3V  3790  .B8  1914 

Burgwin,  William  Harry,  1863 

Practical  evangelism 


PRACTICAL 
EVANGELISM 


By 


-y 


WILLIAM  H.  BURGWIN 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

New  York         Cincinnati 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
WILLIAM  H.  BURGWIN 


TO 

THE  CHURCHES 

He  has  been  privileged  to  serve 

and 

Which  have  done  so  much  for  him 

This  Book  is  Dedicated 

BY  THE  AUTHOR 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Foreword 7 

I.     Twice-Born  Men 13 

II.     The  Personal  Touch 41 

III.  The  Textbook 55 

IV.  The  Keynote  .  .  .  .' 79 

V.     The  Force 101 

VI.     The  Field 120 

VII.     The  Campaign 142 

APPENDIX 
Some  Plans  for  Practical  Evangelism 

I.  For  the   Local  Church 170 

II.  For  a  Community   Movement 181 


FOREWORD 

The  author,  in  presenting  this  mod- 
est treatise  on  Practical  Evangelism, 
does  not  pose  as  an  expert  in  reUgious 
psychology,  though  he  has  some  knowl-^ 
edge  of  the  findings  of  the  investi- 
gators in  this  field.  He  believes  his 
own  point  of  view  is  accurately  de- 
scribed by  the  word  ^'practical/^  As 
an  active  pastor  for  nearly  nineteen 
years,  he  offers  a  digest  of  his  own 
ministerial  experience  as  related  to 
evangefism,  feeling  sure  that  such  a 
statement,  had  it  been  put  into  his 
hands  at  the  beginning  of  his  min- 
istry, would  have  added  greatly  to  his 
efficiency.  He  dares  hope  that  this 
expression  may  serve  as  an  index  finger, 
pointing  at  least  an  occasional  worker, 
whether  minister  or  layman,  even  in 
the  earlier  years  of  his  activity,  to 
the  highway  of  assured  success. 

7 


INTRODUCTION 

To  be  successful,  evangelism  must 
be  practical.  I  mean  not  only  as  to 
principle  and  methods,  but  more  espe- 
cially as  to  results.  Men  have  had  fine 
ideals  as  to  evangelism,  where  the 
attempt  to  fulfill  them  has  not  been 
realized.  Men  have  arranged  elabo- 
rate systems  of  evangelistic  work, 
where  the  product  has  been  inconsid- 
erable. By  ^Tractical  Evangelism^^  I 
understand  something  which  not  only 
can  be  applied  to  given  situations,  but 
can  be  depended  upon  for  permanent 
product. 

In  these  days  when  so  much  is  being 
heard  about  efficiency  in  the  work  of 
the  world,  we  should  not  hesitate  to 
apply  to  our  rehgious  activity  the  test 
bred  of  the  inquiry,  ^^Is  it  worth 
while?''  To  be  worth  while,  the  plan 
must  work;  the  campaign   must  bear 

9 


10  INTRODUCTION 

fruit;  the  fruit  must  abide.  Men 
should  come  out  of  our  evangehstic 
labor,  not  merely  as  men  who  have 
had  rare  spiritual  experience,  but  as 
men  ready  to  have  their  experiences 
translated  into  work  for  the  world. 

I  beUeve  the  author  is  giving  us 
something  of  value.  I  am  sure  that 
he  proceeds  upon  the  right  line  when 
he  lays  down  as  a  fundamental  the 
sense  of  the  spiritual  underlying  the 
practical.  That  the  Spirit  of  God 
strives  with  men,  and  that  men  may 
heed  the  Spirit  and  find  God — this  is 
not  only  good  theology  but  sound 
psychology,  upon  which  men  ought  al- 
ways to  build  in  any  plans  for  Chris- 
tian evangelism. 

Who  will  not  be  in  accord  with  the 
author  in  laying  the  emphasis,  as  he 
does,  upon  the  use  of  Spirit-filled  men, 
strong  in  the  Word  and  in  prayer? 
It  is  a  needed  note  in  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom  to-day,  that  the  church 
should  come  to  realize   its   birthright 


INTRODUCTION  11 

and  its  possessions  so  that  men  and 
women  everywhere,  wrought  upon  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  trusting  much  in  the 
use  of  the  Bible  and  prayer,  may  be 
employed  as  the  force  whereby  God 
shall  find  new  conquests  in  the  world. 
Theodore  S.  Henderson. 


CHAPTER  I 

TWICE-BORN  MEN 

With  great  personal  benejfit  I  have 
read  and  reread  Mr.  Harold  Begbie's 
books  Twice  Born  Men  and  Souls  in 
Action,  published  in  England  as,  re- 
spectively, Broken  Earthenware  and  In 
the  Hands  of  the  Potter.  Each  book 
has  a  significant  subtitle,  the  first, 
''A  Clinic  in  Regeneration,'^  the  second, 
^The  Crucible  of  the  New  Life.'' 
All  of  these  titles  are  suggestive  and 
truly  descriptive  of  the  character  of 
the  books.  Both  books,  I  take  it, 
have  their  primary  inspiration,  as  Mr. 
Begbie  testifies  of  Twice  Born  Men, 
in  Professor  WiUiam  James's  book 
The  Varieties  of  Rehgious  Experience. 
'The  purpose  of  this  book,  which  I 
venture  to  describe  as  a  footnote  in 
narrative  to  Professor  James's  famous 
work,"  says  the  author  in  the  Preface, 
''is    to    bring   home    to    men's    minds 

13 


14       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

this  fact  concerning  conversion,  that, 
whatever  it  may  be,  conversion  is  the 
only  means  by  which  a  radically  had 
person  can  be  changed  into  a  radically 
good  person.''  The  difference  between 
the  two  books  is  seen  not  merely  in 
the  locahties  where  the  subjects  are 
found.  Twice  Born  Men  tells  of  ^ ^sud- 
den, violent,  and  passionate  conver- 
sion,'^ while  Souls  in  Action  cites 
cases  ^^in  which  a  gradual  and  quite 
tranquil  change  of  heart  leads  to  the 
new  birth/'  Another  difference:  'Tn 
Twice  Born  Men  the  testators  were 
all  men,  and  of  the  humblest  classes 
in  the  community,  some  of  them  the 
very  lees  and  dregs  of  society,"  whereas 
in  Souls  in  Action  most  of  the  stories 
concern  women,  and  in  all  cases  the 
strata  of  society  are  above  the  depths. 
Having  before  him  Professor  James's 
treatise  on  Religious  Experience,  with 
its  carefully  stated  definition  of  con- 
version— 'to  be  converted,'  'to  be  re- 
generated,' 'to  receive  grace,'  'to  expe- 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  15 

rience  religion/  ^to  gain  assurance^  are 
so  many  phrases  which  denote  the 
process,  gradual  or  sudden,  by  which 
a  self  hitherto  divided,  and  consciously 
wrong,  inferior,  and  unhappy,  becomes 
unified  and  consciously  right,  superior, 
and  happy,  in  consequence  of  its 
superior  hold  upon  reUgious  realities'' 
— Mr.  Begbie  goes  forth  into  the 
depths  of  a  London  slum,  where  the 
serpent  and  the  tiger,  the  fang  and 
the  claw  nature  of  humanity  are  in 
the  ascendant,  and  there,  where  a 
Salvation  Army  barracks  lays  siege 
and  wins  miraculous  triumphs,  he  finds 
^The  Puncher,''  ^^Old  Born  Drunk," 
^'Rags  and  Bones,"  and  the  rest.  Or, 
in  the.  West  London  Mission,  a  mon- 
ument to  the  vision,  devotion,  and 
enthusiasm  of  Hugh  Price  Hughes, 
where  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  qualify 
grandly  as  exponents  of  the  church 
militant,  sustaining  ^^an  army  ever  at 
war  against  all  that  is  vile,  base, 
and   degrading,    an   army   ever   exhil- 


16       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

arated  by  the  zest  of  conflict  and 
forcible  with  the  hardihood  of  active 
service,  an  army  whose  battle  song 
should  be  no  morbid  whine  after  indi- 
vidual mercy/'  the  author  leads  us 
to  a  community  such  as  the  inquirer 
must  seek  ^^if  he  would  really  under- 
stand the  place  and  power  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  destinies  of  the  human 
race/'  and  stirs  our  blood  as  we  read 
of  ^The  Flowing  Tide/'  ^^Betrayed/' 
'The  Girl  and  Her  Lover/'  among 
others,  ending  with  three  tales,  told 
under  the  caption,  ''Sister  Agatha's 
Way,"  delineating  the  personaHty, 
methods,  and  triumphs  of  one  con- 
secrated soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  All 
of  which  means  that  Mr.  Begbie  di- 
vested himself  of  his  prejudices  pro  and 
con,  and  in  the  spirit  of  modern  science, 
by  a  true  laboratory  method,  proved 
his  accepted  definition  of  conversion. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  review  the 
Uves  of  the  twice-born  men  and  women 
whom  Mr.  Begbie  has  made  familiar 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  17 

to  every  Christian  community  in  the 
English-speaking  world.  That  work 
has  been  done,  with  unwonted  enthu- 
siasm, not  only  by  religious  journals, 
but  even  by  the  secular  press.  For 
this  there  is  occasion  for  gratitude. 
Yet  there  is  a  certain  note  in  com- 
ments which  may  be  heard,  as  well 
as  in  reviews  which  have  been  printed, 
against  which  I  would  respectfully 
protest.  My  objection  is  not  against 
Mr.  Begbie^s  thorough  service  to  Chris- 
tianity and  the  world,  but  against  a 
possible  inference  that  there  is  a  new 
discovery  in  that  which  he  relates,  or 
that  a  lost  art  has  been  brought  to 
hght.  Mr.  Begbie  makes  no  such 
claim.  Such  moral  miracles  as  these 
books  exploit  are  as  old  as  Chris- 
tianity and  as  recent  as  to-day.  They 
can  be  verified,  I  believe,  wherever 
in  Christendom  an  earnest  Christian 
minister  has  been  devoted  to  his  holy 
calling  for  a  short  term  of  years. 
Often,  in  a  local  community,  they  may 


18       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

not  become  generally  known  because 
of  the  embarrassment  which  such  rev- 
elation would  bring  to  individuals  and 
families.  Even  the  secret  of  such 
marvels  of  grace  may  be  known. 
There  are  two  great  principles  of 
divine  procedure  which  pertain.  First, 
God  is  now  J  as  he  ever  has  heeUj  reach- 
ing out  for  all  men  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 
It  is  the  pecuhar  office  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  to  ^  ^convict  the  world  in 
respect  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness, 
and  of  judgment'^  (John  16.  8).  It 
is  true  too  that  the  warning  stands, 
'^Quench    not    the    Spirit"   (1   Thess. 

5.  19),  ^^And  grieve  not  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God,  in  whom  ye  were  sealed 
unto  the  day  of  redemption"  (Eph. 
4.  30),  and  with  good  reason,  for  even 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  before  the 
Deluge,  ^  ^Jehovah  said,  My  Spirit  shall 
not   strive  with  man  forever"    (Gen. 

6.  3).  From  which  we  conclude  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  at  some  time  or  times, 
perhaps  on  many  different  occasions. 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  19 

knocks  at  the  door  of  every  individual 
life.  But  he  is  not  always  appealing, 
and  the  recipient  of  this  divine  favor 
who  resists  knows  not  when  the  Spirit 
may  depart,  grieved  away  by  human 
obstinacy,  back  of  which  always  is 
sin.  The  second  principle  is  this: 
The  man  who  follows  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  will  find  God,  The 
converts  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  were 
newborn  men,  '^and  they  continued 
steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching 
and  fellowship''  (Acts  2.  42),  not 
merely  because  they  heard  the  apostles' 
preaching,  but  because  that  preaching 
was  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
with  powder,  and  because  they  were 
not  disobedient;  they  followed  the  Holy 
Spirit's  guidance.  It  was  ever  thus. 
Saint  Augustine,  Wycliffe,  Huss,  Lu- 
ther, Knox,  the  Wesleys,  every  other 
great  Christian  soul  and  every  Chris- 
tian convert — all  tell  the  same  story. 
Mr.  Begbie  demonstrates  these  truths 
in  his  books.    This  may  not  have  been 


20       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

his  purpose.  He  started  out  to  put 
Professor  James's  definition  of  conver- 
sion to  a  rigid  scientific  test,  and 
demonstration  of  these  principles  is  a 
result.  He  does  not  claim  to  discover 
anything  which  is  new;  he  does  not 
reveal  a  lost  art.  He  simply  proves 
the  conquering  power  of  the  Christian 
religion  under  most  disadvantageous 
conditions.  Surely,  if  any  Christian 
worker,  toiling  in  this  age  of  material- 
ism, has  lost  heart  and  questions  the 
potency  of  his  message,  these  tales 
should  bring  back  courage  and  fill 
with  abounding  energy,  for,  given  the 
devotion,  what  has  been  done  in  the 
most  difficult  places  can  be  accom- 
plished in  more  favorable  surroundings. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  just  such  results 
are  being  achieved  daily.  As  a  humble 
laborer  in  Christ's  vineyard  I  am  so 
presumptuous  as  to  assert  that  in  my 
own  ministry  these  great  principles 
have  been  demonstrated  many  times 
to  my  complete  satisfaction.     I  have 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  21 

not  the  slightest  doubt  that  thousands 
of  Christian  ministers  can  recite  just 
such  triumphs  of  grace.  In  detaihng 
briefly  certain  cases  in  my  own  work, 
my  purpose  is  to  embolden  Christian 
workers  everywhere,  convinced  that 
God  can  work  and  is  working,  through 
his  servants,  to  conquer  the  world  for 
righteousness. 

In  a  city  in  Connecticut  where  I 
was  pastor,  friends  informed  me  of 
the  arrival  of  a  family  of  Methodists 
on  their  street.  I  called  and  gained 
permission  to  secure  the  transfer  of 
membership  of  the  wife  and  mother, 
but  only  after  I  had  promised  to  visit 
the  husband  and  interview  him  per- 
sonally as  to  his  religious  hfe.  I 
kept  my  pledge,  calling  a  number  of 
times,  enjoying  interesting  conversa- 
tions, finally  winning  this  man  for 
Jesus  Christ.  His  story  is  an  unusual 
one.  His  mother  died  when  he  was 
young.  There  were  other  children. 
After  a  time  the  father  introduced  a 


9&       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

stepmother  into  the  home.  The  new 
wife  had  little  liking  for  the  children. 
Soon,  their  father  supporting  them, 
they  were  committed  to  a  so-called 
home,  where  there  was  no  specific 
religious  instruction,  though  there  was 
moral  training.  This  husband  and 
father  testified  that  he  had  never 
been  taught  to  pray,  that  he  did  not 
know  how,  and  that  he  never  had 
prayed.  Yet  it  was  evident  he  was  a 
man  of  distinct  rehgious  aptitudes. 
He  respected  his  wife's  religion.  He 
wanted  his  children  reared  as  Chris- 
tians. He  was  gentle  in  speech  and 
action.  He  was  willing  to  attend 
church  services,  and  did  so.  Naturally 
enough,  he  did  not  feel  that  he  was 
qualified  for  church  membership,  but 
he  was  willing  to  be  guided.  He  had 
been  worshiping  with  us  for  some  time. 
I  felt  the  day  had  come  to  bring 
matters  to  a  decision.  I  called  at 
his  home  on  a  Saturday  evening  pre- 
ceding the  first  Sunday  of  the  month. 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  23 

I  did  my  best  to  engage  him  in  re- 
ligious conversation,  but  without  avail. 
At  length,  deciding  that,  after  all, 
the  occasion  was  not  propitious,  I 
prepared  to  leave.  We — the  husband, 
the  wife,  and  the  pastor — ^were  stand- 
ing in  the  parlor  and  the  greetings 
of  the  departing  guest  had  been  made, 
when  the  husband,  speaking  my  name 
and  looking  me  straight  in  the  eye, 
said:  ^Wait  a  moment.  I  did  some- 
thing last  night  I  never  did  before. 
I  have  not  told  my  wife  as  yet.  You 
will   be    interested.      I    had    been    at 

lodge  over  at  W .     We  had  been 

doing  some  impressive  work,  and  as  I 
was  walking  home  in  the  beautiful, 
clear  night,  with  stars  overhead  and 
mystery  everywhere,  I  was  deeply 
moved  with  the  thought  of  God.  As 
soon  as  I  got  into  the  house  I  went 
down  on  my  knees  in  prayer. ''  Need- 
less to  say,  I  was  completely  surprised. 
Evidently,  the  religious  had  been  the 
uppermost   idea    in   the   man's   mind, 


S4       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

but  I  liad  not  been  able  to  discover 
it,  though  that  was  my  particular 
purpose  that  evening.  I  did  not  leave 
the  home  as  I  had  intended.  We 
prayed  together.  There  was  extended 
Christian  communion.  The  outcome 
was  that  the  man  was  received  on 
probation  the  next  morning,  became  a 
full  member  of  the  church  in  due 
time,  and  is  now  an  official  member. 
Only  last  April  we  reviewed  his  expe- 
rience in  conversation  together  with  a 
group  of  friends.  To  it  he  added  his 
testimony  that  the  religious  Hfe  is 
profitable  not  only  for  spiritual  but 
for  secular  interests  as  well;  that  his 
firm  has  much  greater  confidence  in 
him  than  formerly,  and  that,  as  an 
expert  mechanic,  he  now  holds  a  posi- 
tion of  great  responsibility.  Is  not  my 
contention  established  by  this  man's 
experience?  God,  by  his  Holy  Spirit, 
was  reaching  after  his  creature.  The 
man  was  responsive  to  the  divine 
guidance,  and  he  found  God. 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  25 

A  number  of  personal  histories  are 
connected  vividly  with  work  done  in 
a  densely  populated  district  of  the 
greater  New  York.  Soon  after  that 
pastorate  began  I  was  called  on  an 
emergency  case  to  a  home  in  a  ten- 
ement where  a  mother  with  a  newborn 
babe  was  in  great  distress.  Her  hus- 
band, crazed  by  liquor,  had  come 
home,  dragged  his  wife  from  the  bed, 
kicked  her,  and  otherwise  treated  her 
cruelly.  Medical  ministries  were  pro- 
vided. The  woman  recovered  and  her 
husband  became  sober.  He  was  sin- 
cerely penitent  for  what  he  had  done. 
The  pastor  was  summoned  to  baptize 
the  baby,  which  he  did.  The  children 
were  in  the  Sunday  school.  Calls 
were  made  occasionally  at  the  home — • 
a  comfortable  one,  as  a  rule.  The 
husband  was  a  skillful  artisan.  His 
great  enemy  was  drink,  but  he  was 
not  an  habitual  drunkard.  Nearly  five 
years  passed.  God's  Spirit  had  fol- 
lowed  him   all   those   years.     Special 


26       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

meetings  of  deep  interest  were  being 
conducted  in  the  church.  This  artisan 
attended  the  meetings,  though  he  rarely 
had  been  seen  at  the  services  before. 
The  Holy  Spirit  gripped  the  man. 
He  was  converted.  Subsequent  pas- 
tors have  testified  as  to  his  fidehty. 
A  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  when 
on  a  visit  to  the  old  charge,  I  met 
him  and  he  reaffirmed  his  allegiance  to 
Jesus  Christ.  His  wife  has  been  no 
encouragement  to  him,  but  he  stands 
fast  in  his  faith,  a  marvel  of  the 
divine  grace. 

It  may  have  been  a  year  after  I 
had  been  called  to  minister  to  the 
mother  in  distress  that  I  noticed  a 
strange  man  of  middle  age  in  company 
with  a  young  man  at  an  evening 
service.  The  young  man  was  well 
known  to  me.  His  story  too  is  in- 
viting, but  that  is  another  tale.  The 
two  men  were  present  week  after 
week  at  the  Sunday  evening  service, 
and   sat    always    in    about    the    same 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  27 

place.  The  stranger  was  interested. 
The  young  man  came  to  me  one  day 
and  asked  me  to  speak  to  his  friend 
if  I  could  get  a  chance  without  too 
much  effort.  He  was  fearful  any  ob- 
trusive action  might  be  repelling.  It 
was  not  necessary  for  me  to  seek  the 
stranger;  he  came  to  me.  He  had 
attended  some  twelve  or  more  regular 
services.  He  asked  me  if  I  could 
give  him  the  time  for  religious  coun- 
sel. Of  course  I  could.  I  did.  His 
story  came  out  in  fragments  during 
a  number  of  conversations.  He  was 
bom  in  a  house  on  the  Newmarket 
racetrack  in  England.  He  had  been 
trained  as  a  horse  jockey.  He  had 
ridden  on  all  the  great  tracks  of  Europe 
until  he  became  too  heavy  for  that 
profession.  He  drifted  to  the  West 
Indies.  He  married.  Finally,  some 
twenty-five  years  before,  he  came  to 
the  United  States.  He  knew  a  horse 
from  hoof  to  ear-tip,  and,  while  he 
had  little  school  education,  was  known 


28       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

as  ^ ^doctor''  and  had  charge  of  the 
horses  of  a  large  corporation.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  not  been  in  a  church 
for  many  years,  excepting  when  he 
took  the  children  to  a  neighboring 
Episcopal  church  for  baptism,  until 
about  three  months  before;  that  dur- 
ing twenty-five  years  he  had  never 
been  free  from  liquor,  though  he  had 
been  able  usually  to  take  care  of 
himself  and  always  had  provided  for 
his  family;  that  having  heard  the 
gospel  preached  for  five  or  six  weeks, 
he  had  felt  there  was  something  wrong 
with  him,  and  that  he  had  quit  drink- 
ing and  had  not  tasted  a  drop  in  over 
six  weeks.  He  came  to  the  prayer 
meeting  and  related  his  experience. 
He  became  a  faithful  member  of  the 
church.  I  have  lost  track  of  him  of 
late,  but  I  am  confident  that  he  too 
illustrates  the  mighty  power  of  God's 
grace  to  seek  and  to  save  lost  souls. 

The    form    of    a    sturdy,    red-faced 
EngHshman  fills  my  mind's  eye.     He 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  29 

was  in  his  prime,  the  head  of  a  family 
which  had  moved  next  to  the  church. 
The  children  came  to  the  Sunday 
school;  the  mother  and  one  older  child 
presented  church  letters.  An  attrac- 
tive family.  Our  deaconess  became  a 
welcome  guest  in  the  home.  The 
father  was  not  rehgious.  He  said  he 
was  able  to  take  care  of  himself;  he 
didn't  need  God  to  look  after  him. 
For  more  than  forty  years  he  had 
managed  to  go  it  alone;  guessed  he 
could  manage  his  affairs  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter.  If  the  wife  wanted 
to  go  to  church,  well  and  good;  and 
it  was  all  right  enough  for  the  chil- 
dren; wouldn't  hurt  'em  anyway.  Evi- 
dently a  difficult  case.  At  length  we 
were  in  the  midst  of  a  revival  cam- 
paign. The  deaconess  was  drawn  to 
the  independent  spirit  at  the  head  of 
the  nearby  household.  He  promised 
her  that  he  would  attend  the  meet- 
ings, and  he  kept  his  word.  A  Sunday 
night  service  came.     He  was  there — 


30       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

not  for  the  first  time.  He  was  touched. 
He  sat  in  the  end  of  a  seat  next  to 
one  of  the  aisles.  As  the  invitation 
was  given  he  placed  his  foot  in  the 
aisle;  there  he  remained,  partly  out  of 
his  seat,  halting  between  two  opinions, 
his  face  flushed  and  troubled.  The 
altar  service  proceeded.  I  thought  of 
going  to  him,  but  something  held  me 
back.  The  meeting  was  dismissed. 
He  was  at  the  Tuesday  evening  service. 
His  face  was  a  study.  He  was  in- 
tense. The  invitation  was  given;  his 
foot  was  in  the  aisle  again;  but  he 
did  not  come.  The  preacher  pleaded 
for  decision.  'Teeling  isn't  enough! 
Judgment  as  to  right  isn't  enough!  A 
convicting  conscience  will  not  save! 
The  will — the  will — must  assert  itself!" 
This  was  the  plea.  The  man's  in- 
tensity increased.  0,  a  battle  royal 
was  being  fought  in  a  man's  breast 
in  yonder  pew,  all  the  forces  of  habit 
and  all  the  fiends  of  hell  arrayed 
against  one  soul-troubled  mortal.    Sev- 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  31 

eral  times  between  prayers  and  hymns 
the  same  invitation  in  different  ways 
was  given.  All  the  time  a  yielding 
was  evident.  Finally,  in  response  to 
the  appeal,  ^'Who  will  come?  Who 
will?"  several  times  repeated,  this  self- 
sufficient  man,  the  flush  still  on  his 
determined  face,  shouted,  ^'I  will!" 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  literally  ran  to 
the  altar.  Yes,  he  was  converted,  and 
there  was  glory  in  that  ruddy  face. 
He  was  a  stationary  engineer  and  had 
a  responsible  position.  He  told  us 
that  he  had  spent  the  best  part  of 
two  days  on  top  of  one  of  the  boilers 
wrestling  with  God  in  prayer;  that  he 
had  scarcely  closed  his  eyes  for  two 
nights;  that  the  struggle  was  simply 
awful,  and  that  he  found  relief  only 
when  he  said  ^^I  will,"  and  surrendered 
to  Jesus  Christ.  His  eldest  son,  a 
young  man,  and  a  younger  son  were 
converted  during  the  same  meetings. 
The  man  has  had  many  vicissitudes  in 
the  intervening  years,  but  when  I  saw 


S2       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

him  about  fourteen  months  ago  the 
glow  was  still  in  his  face.  This  was 
not  a  human  accomplishment.  God 
honored  the  efforts  of  his  servants,  and 
this  engineer  became  a  new  creature 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  church  had  been  prepared  for 
special  revival  effort.  A  famous  evan- 
gelist was  to  begin  work  on  a  certain 
Sunday.  Three  meetings  had  been 
held  during  the  preceding  week.  Fri- 
day night  came,  with  a  congregation 
of  a  hundred,  possibly.  There  were 
several  strangers  present.  One  woman 
in  particular  was  profoundly  stirred, 
was  even  moved  to  tears.  She  re- 
sponded to  the  invitation,  and  with 
other  strangers,  who  were  her  friends, 
and  practically  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, came  forward  to  the  altar.  The 
pastor  conversed  with  the  seekers  and 
was  able  to  help  all  excepting  the 
woman,  who  was  weeping  as  though 
her  heart  was  broken — as  it  was. 
Prayer  was  offered,  earnest,  searching 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  33 

prayer.  But  prayer  and  exhortation 
were  apparently  futile.  Finally  the 
pastor  was  impressed  to  request  all 
to  join  aloud  in  the  Lord^s  Prayer. 
He  believes  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  him  to  urge  the  people  to 
pronounce  no  petition  of  that  model 
prayer  unless  it  could  be  done  sin- 
cerely. Then,  very  deliberately,  he 
led  the  praying  people,  every  petition 
standing  out  by  itself.  The  heart- 
broken woman  recited  petition  after 
petition  clearly  and  firmly  until  'Tor- 
give  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive 
them  that  trespass  against  us'^  was 
reached.  She  hesitated;  she  struggled. 
The  conflict  was  desperate.  There 
was  a  great  sob;  it  came  from  the 
depths.  The  fountains  of  the  deep 
were  broken  up.  Slowly,  but  earnestly, 
she  pronounced  the  difficult  words.  In 
so  doing  she  conquered  a  vengeful, 
hateful  temper,  which,  not  without 
reason,  had  taken  possession  of  her. 
I   learned   her  story   soon   thereafter. 


34        PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

She  and  her  husband  had  been  officers 
and  successful  workers  in  the  Salva- 
tion Army — captains,  as  I  remember  it. 
They  were  happy  in  their  work.  Chil- 
dren were  born  to  them.  One  little 
girl  was  a  cripple.  The  husband  sinned, 
became  a  race-track  gambler,  and  left 
his  family.  For  a  time  he  supported 
them  well.  Then  remittances  ceased. 
Trying  times  came.  The  wife  too  had 
left  the  Army.  She  had  friends  there, 
but  would  rather  suffer  than  betray 
her  need  and  sorrow.  It  seemed  so 
heartless  that  her  husband  should  de- 
sert his  crippled  child.  She  could  not 
forgive  him,  and  she  would  not!  Where 
was  God,  that  he  could  allow  such 
wickedness?  She  found  God.  She  for- 
gave her  husband,  in  spite  of  his 
infidelity,  and  was  herself  forgiven  of 
God.  When  last  I  heard  from  her 
she  had  a  responsible  position  in  con- 
nection with  a  Volunteers  of  America 
Home  in  a  neighboring  State.  In 
spite    of    her    sorrow    she    became    a 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  35 

happy    and    efficient    servant    of    the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Following  an  after-meeting  on  a 
Sunday  evening,  a  German  woman  ap- 
proached the  pastor  somewhat  timidly 
and  in  imperfect  English  said  she 
wished  to  join  the  Methodist  Church, 
and  that  her  husband  would  join  with 
her.  Inquiry  developed  the  fact  that 
she  had  been  reared  in  Germany  as 
a  Roman  Catholic,  had  come  to  Amer- 
ica when  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  that 
a  New  Testament  in  German  had  been 
given  her  at  Castle  Garden.  She  had 
never  read  that  book  before.  It  was 
fascinating.  When  her  mother  dis- 
covered her  possession  she  took  it 
from  her,  warning  her  of  serious  con- 
sequences from  the  reading  thereof. 
She  honored  her  mother^s  command, 
though  sad  of  heart.  After  her  mar- 
riage to  a  man  nominally  a  Lutheran 
she  purchased  a  Bible  in  German.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  lamp  to  her  feet  and 
a   light   to   her   path.      Yet   she   was 


36       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

loyal  to  the  Roman  Church.  She 
attended  its  services.  Her  children 
were  baptized  by  its  priests.  But  as 
the  boys  approached  youthful  years, 
she  turned  away  from  Rome.  She  told 
of  conditions  there  which  she  felt 
threatened  the  moral  integrity  of  her 
sons.  ^^I  could  be  a  good  Christian/' 
she  said,  ^^in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  but  I  think  of  my  boys." 
She,  with  her  husband,  joined  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  She  felt 
God  had  sent  them  there  in  answer 
to  prayer,  and  she  said  so  repeatedly 
in  public  testimony.  Through  his  own 
word  the  Holy  Spirit  had  reached  the 
innermost  life  of  this  devoted  mother, 
and  she  was  obediently  responsive  to 
the  heavenly  Father's  call.  The  devo- 
tion of  the  husband  was,  evidently, 
as  real  as  that  of  the  wife.  Subse- 
quently two  sons  and  two  daughters 
were  received  into  church  fellowship, 
and  a  new  baby  was  baptized  by  the 
Protestant  clergyman. 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  37 

A  single  additional  instance,  one 
which  has  been  a  great  personal  inspi- 
ration. It  would  seem  that  it  should 
convince  men  anew  of  the  activity 
and  the  potency  of  God^s  Spirit.  The 
place  is  a  large  Long  Island  village,  a 
suburb  of  New  York  city.  An  intel- 
ligent man,  slightly  lame,  stepped  into 
the  church  and  took  the  seat  nearest 
the  door.  It  was  a  Sunday  evening. 
He  was  gone  before  the  minister  could 
reach  him.  He  continued  to  attend 
the  evening  service;  then  came  to  the 
morning  worship  as  well.  One  day  he 
stopped  long  enough  to  invite  the 
minister  to  call.  He  lived  alone  in  a 
house  near  the  church.  His  mother 
had  died  about  a  year  before.  That 
mother  was  a  beautiful  Christian,  a 
member  of  that  church.  She  had  long 
been  a  patient  sufferer  with  rheu- 
matism. This  son,  fifty-five  years  of 
age,  was  a  persistent  infidel.  He  be- 
heved  his  mother  had  a  comfort  in 
her  rehgion;  still  he  insisted  that  her 


88       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

religion  was  a  delusion.  Before  her 
death  he  had  been  her  faithful  nurse. 
After  her  departure  he  had  remained 
in  the  home,  his  own  health  being 
impaired.  He  had  come  to  church, 
he  said,  as  a  matter  of  pastime  and  to 
satisfy  his  curiosity.  He  had  never 
been  a  deeply  depraved  man,  but  had 
used  alcoholic  stimulants  more  or  less, 
and  in  a  moderate  way  had  been  ^^one 
of  the  boys^'  in  other  days.  To  use 
his  own  phraseology,  ^^You  hit  me  in 
the  neck  the  very  first  night.  I  went 
home  angry,  hunted  up  a  Bible,  and 
found  to  my  surprise  that  what  you 
said  was  there,  and  more  like  it.'^ 
He  said  that  he  was  ^^hit"  every  time 
he  came  to  the  services.  Religion  be- 
gan to  assume  the  form  of  reality. 
He  felt  his  own  need  of  God^s  help. 
He  read  the  Bible.  He  prayed.  He 
gained  relief,  but  he  could  hardly  be- 
lieve it  lasting.  He  put  himself  on 
probation,  deciding  that  if  God  would 
help  him  to  lead  a  Christian  life  for  a 


TWICE-BORN    MEN  39 

term  of  months,  he  would  confess  him 
and  present  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  church  membership.  He  adhered 
strictly  to  his  self-prescribed  program, 
attending  all  the  services  possible,  in- 
cluding prayer  meeting  and  class  meet- 
ing. It  was  his  delight  to  converse 
with  the  brethren  on  religious  subjects. 
His  religious  life  grew  brighter  and 
brighter,  though  the  rheumatism  fas- 
tened itself  with  constantly  increasing 
tenacity  upon  him,  and  he  could  leave 
the  house  only  with  great  effort.  A 
brother-in-law,  a  sincere  Christian,  who 
knew  his  Hfe  from  young  manhood, 
called  at  the  parsonage  to  express 
appreciation  of  the  great  change  which 
had  been  wrought  in  the  hfe  of  an 
infidel.  ^^It's  a  wonderful  change,  ^^  he 
said.  And  it  was — a  complete  trans- 
formation. The  suffering  rheumatic, 
rejoicing  in  peace  of  soul,  lives  in  that 
brother-in-law's  home  in  the  State  of 
Connecticut.  Here  is  a  sentence  from 
a  recent  letter:  ^^I  can  assure  you  that 


40       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

my  faith  in  the  Master  is  just  as 
strong  as  ever,  and  I  pray  daily  that 
it  may  become  stronger  and  firmer." 
He  is  rarely  able  to  attend  the  sanc- 
tuary now,  but  evidently  is  growing 
in  grace. 

God  lives!  God  works  in  the  hearts 
of  men!  God  saves!  He  is  not  con- 
fined by  seasons  or  localities.  Some 
are  reached  in  revival  times,  others 
under  ordinary  circumstances  of  wor- 
ship within  the  church  or  elsewhere. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  abroad  pleading 
with  men.  When  the  plea  is  heeded 
transgression  is  forgiven,  iniquity  is 
covered;  where  evil  was  the  good 
abounds.  These  are  working  principles. 
All  Christians  should  recognize  them 
and  permit  themselves  to  be  channels 
for  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  should  be 
convinced  that  none  are  too  bad;  that, 
if  given  a  chance,  the  grace  of  God 
has  such  potency  that  the  most  de- 
praved and  debauched  can  be  saved, 
^ 'saved  to  the  uttermost.'' 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PERSONAL  TOUCH 

The  principles  which  have  been 
enunciated  and  illustrated  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  are  fundamental.  The 
Spirit  of  God  does  strive  with  men, 
and  men  may  heed  the  Spirit  and  find 
God,  doubtless  without  other  agency. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  evident  as  a  prin- 
ciple of  the  divine  procedure  that  the 
efficiency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a 
regenerating  agent  is  increased  as  saved 
sinners  become  workers  together  with 
God.  This  is  the  divine  method  as 
presented  in  the  Bible.  In  Christ 
Jesus  the  divine  and  the  human  were 
united  to  bring  salvation.  Though 
Christ  is  no  longer  present  in  the 
flesh,  the  same  union  of  powers  is 
most  largely  successful  in  winning  souls. 
Men  with  burning  hearts  because  of 
the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  are  to  touch 
other  hearts  and  thus  effect  a  vital 

41 


42       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

union  with  Jesus  Christ.  This  expe- 
rience is  common  to  soul-winners  every- 
where. Peter  and  his  companions  felt 
it  at  Pentecost.  Spiritual  history  has 
been  repeating  it  ever  since.  Clearly, 
then,  this  mighty  truth  has  not  been 
hidden.  It  is  no  secret  to  be  possessed 
and  used  by  an  elect  few.  It  is  an 
open  sesame  for  every  Christian  into 
a  field  of  untold  achievement.  ^^Ye 
shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall 
be  my  witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem, 
and  in  all  Judsea  and  Samaria,  and  to 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth"  (Acts 
1.  8).  The  resurrected  Christ  was 
not  mistaken.  His  last  words,  spoken 
just  before  ^'he  was  taken  up,"  deserve 
our  most  reverent  attention.  They 
should  flood  the  Christian  with  a  sense 
of  obhgation.  They  should  impel  him 
to  holy  achievement. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  would  appear 
that  the  majority  of  Christians  have 
no    such    sense    of    personal    respon- 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         43 

sibility.  Certainly,  there  is  no  wide- 
spread cry,  '^  'Woe  is  me'  if  I  win 
not  souls/'  On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  an  apparent  incredulity  as  to  com- 
petency, resulting  in  an  utter  indiffer- 
ence with  many  if  not  most  Christians. 
This  incredulity  and  indifference,  if 
questioned,  are  excused  on  the  ground 
that  such  work  is  that  to  which  the 
minister  is  ordained  and  for  which  min- 
isters are  equipped  both  by  school  train- 
ing and  practical  experience.  Soul- 
winning  is  an  essential  part  of  his 
vocation  and  the  minister  ought  to 
achieve  such  results.  Granted!  That, 
however,  does  not  relieve  any  other 
Christian  to  whom  opportunities  may 
come,  especially  since  there  are  thou- 
sands— yea,  millions — whom  the  min- 
isters can  never  reach  because  of 
obvious  and  natural  limitations,  how- 
ever willing  their  disposition.  That 
opportunities  do  come  to  or  may  be 
found  by  most  Christians  is  a  sufficient 
indication  of  duty. 


44       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Yet  truly,  for  this  work  above  all 
others,  there  must  be  equipment  for 
laymen  as  well  as  ministers.  That 
equipment  is  attainable.  Such  attain- 
ment may  be  followed  by  achievement. 
Certainly,  achievement  is  unlikely,  if 
not  impossible,  without  the  prescribed 
equipment,  followed  by  earnest  effort. 
The  trained  athlete  knows  that  often 
the  most  surprising  feat  is  performed, 
by  supreme  effort,  when  achievement 
seems  impossible.  The  capable  athlete 
succeeds  because  he  tries — dares  ven- 
ture even  though  he  fail.  Herein  is 
the  secret  of  success  for  the  Christian, 
commissioned  to  win  souls — as  every 
Christian  is:  Fitness  added  to  Effort 
Produces  Success. 

Surely,  it  is  the  unescapable  duty 
of  every  Christian  to  be  efficient  as  a 
soul-winner  to  the  extent  of  his  talents. 
Such  efficiency  requires  the  worker  to 
be  a  Christian  indeed.  This  means 
personal  union  with  Jesus  Christ — 
prayer    union,    contact    through    his 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         45 

Word,  and  union  with  him  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  his  Spirit — the  vital  rela- 
tion of  the  vine  to  the  branches. 
This  union  insures  agreement  with  the 
Saviour  in  motive  and  activity.  There 
will  be  personal  contact  with  men, 
coupled  with  willingness  to  follow  the 
divine  leadings  and  courage  to  seize 
opportunities  in  simple  faith  and  hum- 
ble dependence  on  God.  Having  this 
equipment,  practically  any  Christian 
w^ho  has  the  faculty  of  interesting  others 
in  anything — lessons  to  be  learned, 
goods  to  be  bought,  club  or  lodge  to 
be  joined,  candidate  to  be  voted  for, 
literature,  music,  art,  social  chat,  sport 
— has  essential  qualities  for  individual 
work  for  Christ.  There  may  or  may 
not  be  impelling  inherited  traditions,  a 
natural  personal  disposition,  long  and 
intimate  association  with  men,  thor- 
ough education,  and  wide  reading. 
Any  or  all  of  these  may  be  helpful; 
all  are  desirable;  but  none  of  them 
are  essential  as  an  equipment  for  the 


46       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

winner  of  souls.  The  sine  qua  non  of 
the  evangehst,  whether  minister  or  lay- 
man, as  to  fitness,  is  union  with  Christ 
and  contact  with  men,  linked  to  a 
determination  to  acquaint  the  sinner 
personally  with  the  Saviour.  Whatever 
else  he  has  or  has  not,  this  must  be 
the  possession  of  the  soul-winner. 

Yet  fitness  without  endeavor,  like 
knowledge  and  faith  without  love,  is 
nothing.  All  the  power  of  Jesus  would 
not  have  saved  the  Samaritan  woman 
without  Christ's  effort.  What  pains 
he  took!  How  discreetly  he  directed 
that  conversation!  How  tactful  he 
was !  How  winsome !  How  prodigal  in 
revealing  truth  to  a  congregation  of 
one!  And  such  a  one!  He  wrought 
manfully,  divinely,  for  that  soul,  and 
he  won.  Assuredly,  then,  it  is  the 
unmistakable  obUgation  of  every  Chris- 
tian to  strive  to  win  others  for  Christ, 
according  to  his  ability.  Opportunities, 
as  a  rule,  iieed  not  be  sought.  They 
press  upon  us.     Family  ties  and  bus- 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         47 

iness,  educational,  social,  political,  fra- 
ternal, and  every  other  relationship  in 
life,  bring  frequent  opportunities  for 
Christian  effort.  Neghgence  means 
peril  and  disaster,  not  only  to  the 
sinner,  but  to  the  Christian  as  well. 
He  must  answer  for  his  sins  of  omis- 
sion. To-day  many  persons — multi- 
tudes— are  unconverted  and  unsaved 
because  the  ministry  of  soul-winning 
is  made  the  endeavor  of  the  few  rather 
than  the  active  employment  of  all 
Christians.  The  British  Weekly  tells 
a  story  of  General  William  Booth,  of 
the  Salvation  Army.  He  had  re- 
sponded to  a  request  for  an  interview 
with  Queen  Alexandra.  The  interview 
ended,  the  Princess  Victoria  requested 
him  to  write  in  her  autograph  album. 
For  a  moment  he  was  at  a  loss  as  to 
what  to  write.  A  quick  thought  solved 
his  problem.  He  took  pen  and  wrote, 
'^Saved  to  save,''  and  signed  his  name. 
A  short  time  thereafter  a  messenger 
came  from  Queen  Alexandra,  bearing 


48       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

her  autograph  album  and  requesting 
the  General  to  inscribe  therein  the 
same  sentiment  he  had  written  for  the 
Princess  Victoria.  Of  course  he  acceded 
to  the  request,  and  wrote  for  the 
good  queen  that  which  well  may  be 
the  ideal  and  the  purpose  of  every 
Christian  of  high  and  low  degree, 
'^Saved  to  save.'' 

Of  course  every  effort  will  not  be 
successful  in  apparent  result.  The 
athlete  has  failures.  The  business  in- 
vestment does  not  always  pay  div- 
idends. Students  have  been  known  to 
fail  in  examinations.  It  is  admitted 
that  there  may  be  great  disappoint- 
ments as  well  as  certain  successes. 
Yet  every  opportunity,  whether  of  min- 
ister or  layman,  in  public  or  private, 
is  to  be  recognized  as  a  solemn  call 
to  effort  promising  glorious  results.  In- 
variably that  call  should  be  accepted. 
Whether  success  is  apparent  or  not, 
it  is  real  as  God  reckons  and  as  eternity 
will  show,  when  sincere  effort  has  been 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         49 

made.  The  great  sadness  is  that  so 
many  Christians  make  no  attempt  to 
win  men.  Even  the  opportunities 
which  confront  them  unsought  are 
ignored.  The  evident  results  often  are 
starthng  when  honest  efforts  are  made. 
Why  should  they  not  be  remarkable? 
The  Christian  does  not  work  alone. 
God  is  his  confederate.  It  is  a  holy 
alliance,  in  which  human  limitations 
are  swept  away  and  the  impossible  is 
transformed  into  the  possible.  To 
illustrate : 

A  young  man  passing  a  one-armed 
newsboy  on  the  street  handed  him  a 
card  invitation  to  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  meeting.  It  was 
the  only  card  he  had  the  grace  and 
courage  to  offer  that  day.  The  news- 
boy attended  that  meeting  and  was 
converted — a  soul  was  saved  from 
death.  How  slight  an  effort  for  God 
may  have  a  great  result!  Consider 
another  case:  A  man  of  twenty-seven 
years   pulled    the    parsonage    doorbell 


50       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

one  fall  evening.  He  inquired  for 
the  pastor.  His  greeting  was  an  apol- 
ogy. He  was  not  sober.  The  pastor 
had  visited  the  young  man^s  father 
some  time  before.  As  the  son  had 
passed  through  the  hall  and  up  the 
stairs  he  had  caught  fragments  of  the 
conversation.  Subsequently,  weary  of 
his  bondage,  having  tried  to  reform 
over  and  over  again,  as  a  last  desper- 
ate venture,  he  sought  the  counsel  of 
a  man  whose  voice  he  had  heard, 
whom  he  trusted  because  of  his  ^'high 
calling,^'  but  whom  he  had  never  seen. 
He  signed  the  pledge.  He  was  ad- 
vised urgently  to  take  a  more  radical 
step,  but  he  lacked  the  courage  that 
night.  After  three  weeks  he  was 
trapped  into  drinking.  Again  he  sought 
the  minister  and  confessed  his  fault, 
ashamed  that  he  had  broken  faith. 
That  night  he  took  the  more  decided 
action  on  his  knees — the  first  prayer 
in  eight  years.  He  kept  '^straight^' 
and   happy   for   months.     A   peculiar 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         51 

combination  of  circumstances  to  which 
he  should  have  been  superior  led  to 
his  fall.  Yet  recent  reports  indicate 
that  after  about  ten  years  he  is  living 
a  sober  and  honorable  Ufe.  This 
opportunity  sought  the  minister,  was 
forced  upon  him.  He  might  have  felt 
the  case  hopeless  and  dismissed  his 
caller,  whose  condition  was  abject.  He 
did  what  he  could.  The  result — a 
miracle  of  grace.  Of  course  God  was 
in  it.  One  more  case:  A  Scotchman 
called  on  a  minister  to  plan  for  the 
funeral  services  of  his  babe.  The 
minister  spoke  to  him,  as  anyone 
might,  of  his  religious  life.  He  had 
^^lost  his  evidences. '^  He  was  not 
^^good  enough"  to  receive  the  holy 
communion.  After  the  funeral  the 
minister  called  at  the  home,  as  was 
his  custom.  He  met  the  wife  and 
mother  bereaved.  How  tender  she  was ! 
Almost  the  first  sentence  about  per- 
sonal faith  in  the  heavenly  Father  to 
whom    her    child    had    gone    brought 


52       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

tears.  She  rededicated  herself  to  Christ 
then  and  there.  She  had  been  yearn- 
ing for  Christian  fellowship.  That  eve- 
ning in  the  revival  service  she  made  a 
public  confession  of  Christ.  Several 
months  thereafter — it  was  Watch  Night 
— her  husband  was  present.  The  canny 
Scot  had  been  wary,  had  avoided  the 
church.  But  he  had  not  escaped  the 
strivings  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  He 
found  his  ^^evidences^^  that  New  Year's 
morning.  How  faithful  he  became!  A 
daughter — a  schoolgirl — was  converted 
soon  afterward.  Other  conversions,  in- 
cluding friends  and  neighbors,  were 
brought  about  through  their  efforts. 
Evidently,  affliction  and  sorrow  afford 
immediate  opportunity  for  Christian 
sjmipathy  and  triumph.  Wise  is  he 
who  thus  wins  a  soul.  He  hides  a 
multitude  of  sins. 

Truly,  every  soul-winner  should  de- 
spise discouragement  and  scorn  diffi- 
culty. No  case  is  too  obstinate.  No 
man  has  a  right  to  decide  that  any 


THE    PERSONAL    TOUCH         5S 

are  hopeless.  Make  the  effort!  Re- 
peat it,  if  necessary.  '^If  at  first  you 
don't  succeed,  try,  try  again.''  The 
result  may  be  a  Peter,  a  Bunyan,  a 
Moody.  Such  Christian  conquerors  are 
the  demand  of  the  hour.  But  first 
we  need  the  Andrews  to  lead  them 
to  Christ. 

The  great  revival  will  arrive  when 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  faithfully 
performed  in  pulpit  and  pastoral  labors, 
is  reenforced  by  the  hearty  service  of 
hosts  of  real  Christians  in  individual 
effort  for  souls.  George  Macdonald  re- 
lates the  story  of  a  boy,  gazing  at 
a  glorious  sunset,  who  thought  he 
would  like  to  be  a  painter,  '^Because 
then,"  he  said,  ^^I  could  help  God 
to  paint  the  sky"  (Annals  of  a  Quiet 
Neighborhood,  page  15).  Recalling 
such  evidences  as  the  age  affords  of 
the  divine  power  in  transforming  hu- 
man lives  from  vicious  ugliness  to 
holy  beauty,  shall  not  we  too  have 
aspirations?      0    that    we    might    be 


54       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

soul-winners,  and  thus  help  God  to 
banish  the  desert  and  bring  paradise 
to  earth! 

Away  with  incredulity!  Expel  in- 
difference as  to  the  need  and  duty 
of  individual  work  for  souls!  Thus 
we  shall  remove  a  serious  barrier  to 
the  salvation  of  men.  Speed  the  day, 
Lord  Jesus! 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  TEXTBOOK 

We  have  learned  heretofore  that 
men  are  unable  to  touch  their  fellows 
with  that  power  which  brings  decision 
for  Christ  unless  they  themselves  are 
Spirit-filled.  Given  this  God-possessed 
life,  then  the  consecrated  effort  is 
usually  rewarded.  There  are  two  great 
instrumentalities  without  which  life  is 
unlikely  to  be  Spirit-filled.  One  instru- 
mentaUty  is  the  Holy  Bible.  The 
Bible  must  be  employed  by  the  winner 
of  souls.  No  one  can  use  the  Bible 
intelligently  and  effectively  without 
specific  knowledge  of  its  contents. 
Through  the  Bible-searching  Christian 
God  brings  his  adequate,  personal  mes- 
sage to  mankind.  There  is  no  doubt 
as  to  the  adequacy  of  the  Bible  mes- 
sage. As  Dr.  Charles  E.  Jefferson  said 
so  strikingly  in  his  Yale  Lectures, 
^^Many  men  have   many  minds   and 

65 


56       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

many  needs  and  many  tastes,  and  the 
Bible  is  a  myriad-sided  book  for  a 
myriad-sided  humanity' '  (The  Building 
of  the  Church,  p.  258).  The  Christian, 
then,  being  associated  with  men,  whom 
he  ought  to  influence  and  win  for 
God,  must  search  the  Scriptures,  that 
he  may  gain  such  a  mastery  of  this 
myriad-sided  book  as  will  enable  him 
to  apply  its  balm  to  the  wounds  of  a 
myriad-sided  humanity. 

I.   The  Evangel  and  the  Evan- 
gelist ' 

Our  Scriptures  include  the  gospel. 
The  gospel  is  the  evangel,  and  the 
evangel  is  the  good  news.  It  is  a 
universal  message.  There  is  no  super- 
man in  respect  to  the  Scriptures.  Real 
human  superiority  is  most  likely  to  be 
a  gospel  product.  There  is  no  degrada- 
tion beyond  the  reach  of  gospel  help. 
Where  decadence  persists  and  sin 
riots,  there  the  evangel  is  despised. 
The  good   news    is   to    be  found   in 


THE  TEXTBOOK  5T 

the  Old  Testament  as  well  as  in  the 
New.  The  major  note  in  both  is 
''redemption/^  Incidentally,  redemp- 
tion is  related  to  every  human  in- 
terest. Primarily  and  paramountly  it 
is  concerned  with  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual welfare  of  mankind,  and  its  unit 
is  the  individual.  Divine  relationships, 
as  well  as  human,  are  described  in 
the  Book  with  a  lucidity,  a  heart- 
searching  sympathy,  and  an  authority 
nowhere  else  apparent.  Here  is  essen- 
tial truth.  ''Search  the  Scriptures'' 
and  you  will  find  fundamental  prin- 
ciples which  are  eternal.  As  the  prob- 
lems of  mathematics  cannot  be  solved 
without  the  fundamental  operations, 
so  the  problems  of  life  require  for 
their  solution  a  working  knowledge  of 
Bible  fundamentals.  He  who  has  such 
practical  knowledge  and  uses  it  is  an 
evangehst. 

But  evangelists  are  few.  They  should 
be  many.  Literally,  every  Christian 
should  be  an  evangelist,  a  herald  of 


58        PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

the  evangel,  one  who  tells  the  good 
news  of  salvation.  But  the  story  is 
not  being  heralded  as  it  ought  to  be. 
Why?  Is  it  because  we  know  not 
the  evangel?  Or,  knowing  it,  do  we 
treat  it  lightly,  indifferently,  or  even 
contemptuously,  as  did  so  many  of 
the  contemporaries  of  Jesus?  Be  sure 
there  can  be  no  evangelist  without 
the  evangel.  Here,  doubtless,  is  the 
revelation  of  failure.  The  Bible  is 
accessible.  The  Book  is  open.  But 
the  Scriptures  are  not  being  searched. 
The  treasures  of  Holy  Writ  have  not 
been  found,  appropriated  as  a  personal 
possession,  and  hid  in  our  hearts,  that 
they  may  become  a  leaven  leavening 
the  whole  lump  of  humanity. 

II.  The  Evangel  Equips  the  Evan- 
gelist 

Notwithstanding  our  un-Christian 
delinquency,  we  cannot  but  observe 
the  mighty  and  salutary  influence  of 
the  Bible  upon  the  world.     Our  na- 


THE  TEXTBOOK  59 

tional  leaders  of  to-day  are  men  of 
strength.  Whence  has  come  their 
power?  Is  it  not  a  reassuring  fact 
that  the  most  positive  and  influential 
of  these  men  are  pronounced  and 
practical  Christians?  They  have  dem- 
onstrated their  familiarity  with  the 
Bible  and  their  loyalty  to  the  great 
Book.  As  long  ago  as  1901,  the  Hon. 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  then  Vice-Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  deUvered 
an  address  at  Oyster  Bay,  at  the 
Eighty-Sixth  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Long  Island  Bible  Society,  of  which 
he  is  one  of  the  vice-presidents.  That 
address  treated  of  the  Bible  as  related 
to  character.  He  argued  that  ^'the 
Bible  is  not  only  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity, but  essential  to  good  citizen- 
ship"; that  '^every  thinking  man,  when 
he  thinks,  realizes  what  a  very  large 
number  of  people  tend  to  forget  that 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible  are  so 
interwoven  and  entwined  with  our 
whole    civic    and    social    life    that    it 


60       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

would  be  literally — I  do  not  mean 
figuratively,  I  mean  literally — impossi- 
ble for  us  to  figure  to  ourselves  what 
that  life  would  be  if  these  teachings 
were  removed/'  The  address  closed 
thus:  'We  plead  for  a  closer  and  wider 
and  deeper  study  of  the  Bible,  so 
that  our  people  may  be  in  fact  as  well 
as  in  theory  'doers  of  the  word,  and 
not  hearers  only' ''  (President  Roosevelt 
On  The  Bible.  American  Bible  Society 
Leaflet).  More  recently,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  Tercentenary  Celebration 
of  the  King  James'  Version  of  the 
Bible,  in  Orchestra  Hall,  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois, May  4,  1911,  the  Hon.  Wilham 
J.  Bryan  delivered  a  remarkable  ad- 
dress on  ''The  Book  of  Supreme 
Influence."  In  that  address  Mr.  Bryan 
said,  "Wherever  the  moral  standard 
is  being  lifted  up — wherever  Hfe  is 
becoming  larger  in  the  vision  that 
directs  it  and  richer  in  its  fruitage, 
the  improvement  is  traceable  to  the 
Bible    and    to    the    influence    of    the 


THE   TEXTBOOK  61 

God  and  Christ  of  whom  the  Bible 
tells^^  (Hon.  William  J.  Bryan  On  The 
Bible.  American  Bible  Society  Leaf- 
let). At  about  the  same  time,  cele- 
brating the  same  event,  at  Denver, 
Colorado,  he  who  is  now  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Hon.  Woodrow 
Wilson,  declared  the  Bible  to  be  the 
charter  of  human  progress.  Mr.  Wilson 
said  that  the  Bible  ^  ^reveals  every 
man  to  himself  as  a  distinct  moral 
agent,  responsible  not  to  men,  .  .  .  but 
responsible  through  his  own  conscience 
to  his  Lord  and  Maker.  Whenever  a 
man  sees  this  vision  he  stands  up  a 
free  man.'^  Again:  ^^A  man  has  found 
himself  when  he  has  found  his  rela- 
tion to  the  rest  of  the  universe,  and 
here  is  the  book  in  which  those  rela- 
tions are  set  forth.''  Further:  ^^And 
the  Bible  is  without  age  or  date  or 
time.  It  is  a  picture  of  the  human 
heart  displayed  for  all  ages  and  for 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.'' 
^ ^Nothing  makes  America  great  except 


62       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

her  thoughts,  except  her  ideals,  except 
her  acceptance  of  those  standards  of 
judgment  which  are  written  largely 
upon  the  pages  of  revelation/'  Here 
are  the  closing  words  of  the  address: 
'^I  have  a  very  simple  thing  to  ask  of 
you.  I  ask  of  every  man  and  woman 
in  this  audience  that  from  this  night 
on  they  will  realize  that  part  of  the 
destiny  of  America  Hes  in  their  daily 
perusal  of  this  great  book  of  revela- 
tions— that  if  they  would  see  America 
free  and  pure,  they  will  make  their 
own  spirits  free  and  pure  by  this 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Scripture^'  (Gov- 
ernor Woodrow  Wilson  On  The  Bible. 
American  Bible  Society  Leaflet).  Do 
not  such  testimony  and  admonition 
convince  us  that  the  Bible  provides 
highly  desirable  equipment  for  men? 
Is  it  not  clear  that  the  Bible  must  be 
taken  seriously?  More  seriously  than 
the  pocketbook,  or  the  bankbook,  or 
any  other  book  whatsoever? 

Certain  it  is  that  the  serious  searcher 


THE   TEXTBOOK  63 

within  the  Book  finds  there  a  personal 
commission.  That  great  commission  is 
for  every  Christian.  Our  Saviour  says, 
''Go  ye  into  all  the  worW  (Mark 
16.  15).  His  farewell  assurance,  ^'Ye 
shall  be  my  witnesses^'  (Acts  1.  8, 
R.  V.)  includes  every -disciple.  What- 
ever our  vocation  or  social  standing 
or  religious  relationships,  we  are  to 
make  the  gospel  known;  we  are  to 
be  witnesses  of  Jesus  Christ  at  home 
and  abroad.  This  is  a  task  to  "which 
every  Christian  is  ordained  by  the 
will  of  God  and  the  personal  com- 
mand of  Christ.  And  the  great  com- 
mission has  been  its  own  vindication. 
Whenever  and  wherever  men  have  felt 
and  acted  upon  it  as  a  personal  obli- 
gation, life  has  been  revitalized  in 
individuals,  communities,  and  states. 
Gospel  truth  in  human  life  and  in  so- 
ciety is  a  powerful  constructive  agency. 
Its  absence  is  an  assurance  of  dete- 
rioration. George  Macdonald  is  right 
when  he  quotes  a  devout  German  who 


64       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

says  that  ^  Where  God  rules  not,  de- 
mons will"  (Annals,  p.  322). 

Obviously  enough,  however,  no  one 
can  preach  the  gospel  without  know- 
ing it.  No  soul  can  bear  witness 
unless  he  has  seen  and  felt  for  him- 
self. Where  shall  we  go  that  we  may 
see,  and  who  shall  teach  us  that  we 
may  know?  We  must  ^ ^search  the 
Scriptures.''  This  is  a  complete  an- 
swer. The  Bible  is  our  Mount  of 
Vision.  Its  supreme  personahty  is  our 
Teacher.  In  his  Word  there  is  eternal 
life  for  every  soul  (John  5.  24).  The 
Book  introduces  us  to  the  Teacher  and 
clears  the  atmosphere  so  that  we  may 
see  the  vision — ^which  many  of  his 
countrymen  did  not  see,  as  his  own 
statement  indicates  (John  5.  40).  But 
he  who  heeds  the  Teacher  and  learns 
the  lesson  sees  the  vision  and  per- 
forms the  task.  His  achievements 
prove  the  power  of  the  gospel. 

The  secret  of  that  power  is  not  far 
to  seek.      The  Bible  teachings  go  to 


THE   TEXTBOOK  65 

the  very  heart  of  things.  The  Bible 
breathes  forth  sympathy  as  a  violet 
spreads  fragrance.  It  extends  strong 
arms  of  comfort  as  gracious  as  a 
mother's  love.  It  puts  a  foundation 
under  the  feet:  ''On  Christ  the  Solid 
Rock  I  stand.''  It  does  impart  power 
and  give  life — eternal  life.  But  it  does 
more.  It  condemns!  It  robs  sin  of 
its  bewitching  beauty.  It  pictures  the 
foul  thing  in  all  its  awful,  black  colors 
and  hideous  forms.  In  sin's  train 
stalks  sorrow  and  tragedy — not  joy  and 
delights.  Beyond  that  is  the  bitter, 
choking  sob,  the  pall,  the  grave — then 
hell,  deep,  dark,  abiding.  In  the 
Bible,  sin  is  absolutely  awful.  Thus 
negatively,  as  well  as  positively,  the 
Bible  is  the  most  constant  and  pos- 
itive preacher  of  righteousness.  It 
never  flatters;  nor  does  it  compromise. 
''God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of 
it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye 
die"  (Gen.  3.  3).  No  compromise 
there!    To  David  the  king,  Nathan — 


66       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

God's  man — ^with  indicting  index  fin- 
ger, declared,  ^Thou  art  the  man'' 
(2  Sam.  12.  7).  Belshazzar  was  proud. 
Belshazzar  was  a  mighty  monarch. 
Nevertheless,  the  finger  of  the  Al- 
mighty, when  a  thousand  lords  were 
Belshazzar's  guests,  inscribed  on  the 
wall  of  the  banquet  hall,  ^Thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found 
wanting'^  (Dan.  5.  27).  The  young 
man  of  high  moral  character  was 
frankly  told  by  Jesus,  ''One  thing 
thou  lackesf'  (Mark  10.  21).  That 
was  [a  concrete  illustration  of  the 
eternal  truth,  ''No  man  can  serve 
two  masters.  ...  Ye  cannot  serve 
God  and  mammon''  (Matt.  6.  24). 
The  rich  gormand,  having  died,  is  in 
torments,  while  Lazarus,  the  faithful, 
though  a  beggar  and  a  noisome  in- 
vahd,  finds  a  refuge  in  Abraham's 
bosom.  And  the  way  of  salvation 
is  not  many;  there  is  no  alterna- 
tive route,  "for  there  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven  given  among  men. 


THE  TEXTBOOK  67 

whereby  we  must  be  saved''  (Acts 
4.  12).  Then,  ahnost  on  the  last 
page  of  the  great  Book,  we  read, 
''And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  it  anything  that  defileth,  neither 
whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or 
maketh  a  Ue;  but  they  which  are 
written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  hfe" 
(Rev.  21.  27).  No  flattery!  No  com- 
promise! Yet  the  Bible  is  as  gentle 
as  a  lovely  child  and  as  tender  as  a 
wooing  lover.  How  beautiful  is  the 
book  of  Ruth!  How  winsome  are 
the  Saviour's  words! — ''Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me;  for 
I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart:  and 
ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. 
For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden 
is  light"  (Matt.  11.  28-31). 

Rightly  do  we  infer  as  we  thus 
read  that  God  puts  a  high  value  on 
a  human  soul.  The  soul  is  infinitely 
valuable.     We  are  ever  confronted  by 


68       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

the  challenging  interrogative  of  Jesus, 
^Tor  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if 
he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  his  own  soul?  Or  what  shall  a 
man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?^' 
(Mark  8.  36,  37.)  The  total  of  all 
earthly  treasure  is  too  little  to  offer 
in  exchange  for  the  poorest,  meanest 
human  soul.  It  took  the  eternal  life 
and  the  infinite  love  of  God's  Son 
to  ransom  accursed  humanity.  Heaven 
was  compelled  to  make  the  unique 
and  superlative  investment  that  the 
penalty  of  sin  might  be  paid.  So 
great  is  the  value  of  a  soul,  God  him- 
self being  the  assessor! 

It  is  also  apparent  to  the  Scripture- 
searcher  that  the  Bible  proclaims  the 
purpose  and  the  power  of  Christ  to 
save  souls.  Repeated  invitations  and 
many  assurances  make  it  certain  that 
he  is  willing  and  able  to  save  men. 
"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  worW 
(John  L  29).     ''I  came  that  they  may 


THE  TEXTBOOK  69 

have  life,  and  may  have  it  abun- 
dantly^^ (John  10.  10).  ^The  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life 
a  ransom  for  many^^  (Matt.  20.  28). 
'^I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and 
the  life:  no  one  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me''  (John  14.  6). 
^Tor  if,  while  we  were  enemies,  we 
were  reconciled  to  God  through  the 
death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  be- 
ing reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved  by 
his  life''  (Rom.  5.  10).  These,  and 
many  other  like  expressions,  proclaim 
the  glorious  truth.  They  are  conclu- 
sive.    He  is  willing!    He  is  able! 

This,  then,  is  the  prospect  from 
our  Mount  of  Vision:  The  beauty 
of  holiness,  the  awfulness  of  sin,  the 
worth  of  a  soul,  and  the  purpose  and 
power  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
to  save  men.  The  Teacher  confirms 
the  vision  and  directs  us  to  our  task. 
The  Christian  must  be  a  witness. 
The  earnest  searcher  gains  a  sense  of 


70       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

personal  responsibility  which  entails  in- 
dividual accountability.  He  is  his 
brother^s  keeper,  and  he  knows  it. 
He  must  be  alert,  with  lamps  trimmed 
and  oil  provided.  He  must  invest 
his  talent  and  gain  other  talents.  His 
neighbor  may  be  near  or  far,  and  he 
must  be  neighborly.  The  far  country 
never  can  be  his  satisfying  home;  he 
must  arise  and  go  to  his  Father. 
Sowing  and  reaping  are  definitely  re- 
lated; men  may  think  they  deny  it, 
but  God  is  not  mocked.  The  cross 
is  dreaded,  derided,  it  may  be;  but 
it  is  the  highway  to  the  crown.  Trib- 
ulation is  sure — heart-crushing  sorrow, 
heavily  weighted  burdens,  humiliating 
adversity.  But  there's  something  else 
— an  antidote!  Smiles  for  tears!  Sun- 
shine for  storms!  '^Be  of  good  cheer," 
says  Jesus,  '^for  I'm  the  Conqueror.'' 
His  victory  is  mine.  He  lives  now! 
So  do  I!  So  shall  I — if  he  is  allowed 
to  live  in  me.  I  am  a  trustee  of  an  in- 
valuable  treasure — my  soul,   my  life. 


THE   TEXTBOOK  71 

A  superabundance  of  possessions, 
things,  cannot  redeem  my  soul,  any 
soul.  Beside  a  soul  they  are  paltry 
tinsel.  My  treasure  is  forfeit!  Sin, 
the  cause!  It  is  redeemed!  Alleluia! 
Christ  is  the  ransom!  How  do  I 
know?  The  redeemed  of  whom  the 
Book  tells  say  so.  Peter  and  James 
and  John;  the  Magdalene  and  the 
Samaritan  woman;  Zacchaeus  and 
the  blind  man;  the  Ethiopian  prime 
minister  and  Saul  of  Tarsus,  who  be- 
came the  great  ambassador  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  a  host  of  others — they  all 
tell  the  story  of  a  full  salvation. 

I  know  the  power  of  the  Book's 
truth  is  not  exhausted.  Not  one  jot 
or  tittle  is  to  pass  away.  My  mother 
tested  the  truth.  It  did  not  fail  her. 
She  lived  in  the  light  of  that  truth 
— a  tried  and  triumphant  soul.  That 
truth  grips  me.  I  have  seen  it  sway 
and  conquer  men.  It  never  fails  when 
applied  to  an  earnest  life.  Its  invita- 
tion ever  rings  out,  ^'0  taste  and  see 


72       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

that  the  Lord  is  good.  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  trusteth  in  him''  (Psa. 
34.  8).  And  the  epitome  of  the  task 
is  in  the  Rule  called  Golden  and  the 
Law  which  is  Royal  (Matt.  22.  37-40). 
Test  them!  Out  of  a  loving  heart 
bear  witness.  Then  comes  the  song 
beginning,  ^^I  love  to  tell  the  story 
of  unseen  things  above.''  The  sincere 
soul  must  act.  He  becomes  a  walking 
and  talking  evangel.  He  is  effective, 
other  things  being  equal,  in  proportion 
as  he  is  mastered  by  the  wonderful 
teachings  of  the  Book.  The  field  in 
which  he  labors  is  not  limited.  His 
genius,  his  talent,  and  his  opportunity 
are  given  the  fullest  scope.  It  may 
be  in  the  home,  or  in  the  Sunday 
school,  or  in  the  pulpit,  or  in  the 
mission  field.  The  soul  of  John  Wesley 
was  so  flooded  by  the  gospel  truth 
that  he  looked  upon  the  world  as  his 
parish.  And  though  his  dust  rests  in 
the  cemetery  adjoining  City  Road 
Chapel,  London,  even  to-day  the  spirit 


THE  TEXTBOOK  73 

of  the  man  has  so  inspired  men  that 
his  is  a  world-wide  parish  in  which 
^^he  being  dead  yet  speaketh/^ 

III.    Having    the    Evangel,    the 
Evangelist  Wins  Men 

Somewhere  there  is  the  story  of  one 
of  the  first  converts  to  Christianity  in 
Japan.  It  testifies  of  the  power  of 
the  gospel,  brought  to  the  attention  of 
a  young  Japanese  by  an  American 
lady.  This  lady  was  associated  with 
several  missionaries  who  were  engaged 
in  translating  the  Scriptures.  The  lady 
offered  to  teach  English  to  the  young 
man  and  gave  him  the  Gospel  of  John 
to  translate.  Soon  thereafter  he  be- 
came greatly  agitated  and  restless.  At 
last  he  could  contain  himself  no  longer, 
and  burst  out  with  the  question:  ^^Who 
is  this  man  about  whom  I  am  reading 
— the  Jesus?  You  call  him  a  man, 
but  he  must  be  a  God.^'  Thus  the 
written  Word  proved  itself  ^^quick  and 
powerfuF'  (Heb.  4.  12),  and  was  the 


74       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

means  of  saving  a  soul  (The  Illus- 
trator). Miss  Belle  M.  Brain,  writing 
in  the  Missionary  Review  of  the  World 
concerning  WilHam  Duncan,  apostle  to 
the  full-blooded  Tsimshean  Indians,  of 
Annette  Island,  Alaska,  relates  a  won- 
derful tale  of  human  accomplishment 
with  the  Bible  as  guidebook.  On 
Annette  Island  is  a  village  where  ^'no- 
body gets  drunk,  everybody  goes  to 
church,  no  one  smokes  save  an  occa- 
sional tourist,  no  work  of  any  kind 
is  ever  done  on  the  Sabbath,  God^s 
name  is  never  taken  in  vain,  and 
there  has  never  been  any  bloodshed'' 
— all  of  which  refers  to  conditions  under 
present  auspices.  It  was  not  ever  thus. 
The  picture  of  conditions  as  WiUiam 
Duncan  found  them  a  half  century 
back  is  black  enough.  ^The  cruelty 
and  degradation  of  the  Indians  beggar 
description.  Their  natural  fiendishness 
was  augmented  by  the  white  man's 
rum,  and  they  were  a  terror  then 
along  the  coast,  both  to  red  man  and 


THE   TEXTBOOK  75 

white.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  Mr. 
Duncan  witnessed  a  sight  from  one  of 
the  bastions  of  the  fort  that  revealed 
the  awful  depths  into  which  these 
people  had  fallen.  A  chief  having 
murdered  a  slave  woman  in  honor  of 
his  young  daughter,  two  bands  of 
hideously  painted  savages  dragged  the 
body  to  the  water's  edge,  tore  it 
limb  from  limb  and  apparently  de- 
voured the  flesh.  Maddened  by  rum 
and  wrought  by  a  pitch  of  hysterical 
frenzy,  they  continued  their  fiendish 
orgies  day  and  night  for  some  time.'' 
In  1909,  when  asked  to  account  for 
the  transformation.  Father  Duncan  re- 
plied: 'The  only  power  there  is  in  the 
world  to  change  the  heart  of  man  is 
found  in  the  Bible.  The  gospel  has 
done  its  work.  You  can  teach  the 
Indian  in  a  great  many  ways — teach 
him  to  be  this  and  that  and  teach 
him  to  work,  and  then  fail  if  you  dis- 
card the  gospel"  (See  Tarbell's  Teach- 
ers'  Guide,    1911,   p.   212).     When  a 


76       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

young  man  I  heard  a  story  of  Bible 
power  told  by  a  beloved  pastor.  His 
father  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 
There  was  a  son  of  that  home,  a  young 
man  who  seemed  proof  against  the 
gospel  appeal.  He  was  ill,  sick  unto 
death,  as  I  recall  it.  His  friends  were 
deeply  concerned,  but  no  counsel  or 
advices  seemed  potent  for  help  to  the 
groping  soul.  A  Bible  was  left  on  a 
stand  by  the  bedside.  One  day  when 
alone  the  young  man  opened  the  book; 
he  read  from  the  Psalms.  His  eye 
fell  upon  the  words,  ^This  poor  man 
cried,  and  the  Lord  heard  him,  and 
saved  him  out  of  all  his  troubles''  (Psa. 
34.  6).  A  sun  of  brightness  arose  in  his 
soul.  Help  arrived.  The  Book  was 
potent.     The  invaUd  rested  in  peace. 

In  my  young  manhood  a  profound 
impression  was  made  upon  my  reli- 
gious life  by  a  great  revival  campaign 
in  the  church  of  which  I  was  a  mem- 
ber. The  evangelist  was  faithful  in 
his  presentation  of  truth,  but  I  do  not 


THE  TEXTBOOK  77 

remember  the  details  of  any  one  ser- 
mon. As  though  it  were  yesterday, 
however,  do  I  recall  how,  as  he  pressed 
the  invitation,  with  open  Bible  in  hand, 
the  printed  page  held  up  toward  the 
congregation,  he  pointed  to  and  read 
the  words,  ^'AU  have  sinned,  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God''  (Rom. 
3.  23).  Then  he  would  turn  quickly 
to  John  1.  29,  his  finger  following  the 
words  of  the  text,  ^  ^Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world.''  Finally,  words  of  Jesus 
in  Matt.  11.  28,  already  quoted,  were 
permitted  to  make  their  appeal,  '^Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
That  was  the  A  B  C  of  salvation. 
Hundreds  responded  to  the  invitations 
which  were  given.  It  is  true!  It  is 
true!  God's  word  does  not  return  unto 
him  void.  The  Spirit-filled  man  and 
the  Spirit-inspired  Book  are  a  conquer- 
ing combination. 

In   these    days   we   are    coming   to 


78       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

think  more  than  ever  of  Christianity 
as  a  great  democracy — a  religion  which 
not  only  transforms  the  individual,  but 
which,  beginning  with  individuals  and 
including  all  individuals,  works  marvel- 
ous transformations  of  righteousness  in 
communities  and  states.  Its  only  lim- 
itation is  the  whole  human  race.  Its 
program  is  the  reconstruction  of  hu- 
man society  everywhere.  But  Chris- 
tianity, as  an  imperial  democracy,  will 
not  arrive  until  the  mighty  and  vital 
truths  of  God^s  Book  have  been  ab- 
sorbed and  have  become  an  essential 
part  of  all  human  activities.  That  is 
more  nearly  true  now  than  it  ever  has 
been.  We  can  hasten  the  coming  of 
God^s  great  day  by  the  personal  mas- 
tery and  enthronement  of  Bible  truth, 
and  by  appealing  persuasively  to  our 
fellows  to  do  the  same.  He  who  knows 
the  evangel  understands  that  this  is  not 
optional,  but  that  it  is  the  high  privi- 
lege and  solemn  duty  of  every  Chris- 
tian to  be  a  witness  for  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  KEYNOTE 

Hitherto  we  have  observed  the 
potency  of  the  Holy  Bible  as  an  in- 
strumentality through  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  comes  into  human  lives,  equip- 
ping men  to  win  their  fellows  for  God. 
The  Spirit-filled  life  is  induced  also  by 
the  practice  of  prayer.  Prayer  is  an 
instrument  essential  for  the  use  of 
Christians  in  bringing  God's  kingdom 
to  men.  This  we  assume,  having  in 
our  thought  the  precise  instruction  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  disciples  one  day 
saw  the  private  devotions  of  our  Lord. 
Previously,  doubtless,  they  had  noticed 
the  influence  of  prayer  in  his  life. 
They  were  impressed  with  the  value 
of  prayer  for  him,  and  in  possibihty, 
for  themselves.  ^'When  he  ceased,  one 
of  his  disciples  said  unto  him.  Lord, 
teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught 
his  disciples.     And  he  said  unto  them, 

79 


80       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

When  ye  pray,  say,  Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven.  Hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come''  (Luke  11.  1,  2). 
^Thy  kingdom  come.''  All  the  peti- 
tions of  this  Pattern  Prayer  are  funda- 
mental. At  this  point,  then,  our  Great 
Teacher  touches  the  Keynote  for  Chris- 
tian conquest. 

I.  The  Kingdom  and  Prayer 

There  should  be  no  confusion  as  to 
the  kingdom.  I  understand  this  king- 
dom to  be  the  kingdom  of  God,  the 
kingdom  of  righteousness,  the  kingdom 
of  love  and  goodness  in  men's  lives, 
the  kingdom  which  will  be  realized  on 
earth  when  God's  will  is  done  here  as 
it  is  in  heaven.  When  this  prayer  is 
answered  it  will  be  because  men  have 
followed  Jesus  Christ,  have  trusted  and 
obeyed  him,  with  glowing  tongue  and 
burning  deed  have  certified  to  their 
fidelity.  In  some  degree  this  has  been 
realized  iii  every  age  of  the  Christian 
era.     The  very  existence  of  the  apos- 


THE   KEYNOTE  81 

tolic  church  is  to  be  accounted  for  by 
a  profound  belief  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  power  which  brought  Chris- 
tians together  in  groups  and  built  them 
into  church  organizations  at  the  be- 
ginning was  what  has  been  called  an 
impassioned  confidence  in  the  reality 
and  immanence  of  that  divine  order. 
And  prayer  was  the  heart  and  soul 
of  their  union.  We  cannot  forget  that 
Pentecostal  blessing,  empowering  the 
disciples  for  soul-winning  endeavor,  fol- 
lowed a  prayer  service  extending  over 
ten  days  and  was  characterized  by  an 
intensity  which  we  should  try  to  appre- 
ciate and  realize  for  ourselves.  Think 
of  the  occasion!  The  Lord  had  left 
them.  Previous  to  his  departure  he 
had  told  them  of  his  intention;  they 
were  depressed  thereby;  he  informed 
them  of  the  expediency  of  the  separa- 
tion, but  assured  them  that  they  would 
not  be  deserted  or  neglected.  They 
would  have  another  Comforter  who 
would  be  a  teacher,  helper,  and  guide. 


82       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Afterward  he  declared,  '^And,  lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world''  (Matt.  28.  20).  ''And 
a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their 
sight''  (Acts  1.  9).  His  promises, 
assurances,  and  the  great  commission 
were  seed  which  took  root  in  their 
hearts  to  produce  a  great  expectation. 
Would  the  promises  be  fulfilled,  the 
assurances  honored?  It  was  a  crisis. 
They  met  and  remained  together  for 
prayer.  Faith  and  fortune  and  des- 
tiny were  grounded  upon  the  issue  in 
which  prayer  played  so  large  a  part. 
And  faith  and  prayer  were  vindicated. 
Prayer  was  the  key  to  the  djraamic. 
After  the  waiting  in  prayer  for  a  day, 
and  a  week — yes,  for  ten  days — the 
answer  came.  It  was  a  flood  tide 
of  blessing  and  power.  The  Holy  Spirit 
filled  them.  Vision  and  eloquence, 
logic  and  action  followed  in  his  train. 
The  accession  to  the  kingdom  that  day 
in  Jerusalem  was  three  thousand  souls. 
Soon  thereafter  we  read  that  ''many 


THE   KEYNOTE  83 

of  them  which  heard  the  word  be- 
heved;  and  the  number  of  the  men 
was  about  five  thousand^^  (Acts  4.  4). 
Such  prevaihng  prayer,  then  and 
now,  is  related  very  directly  and  def- 
initely to  a  state  of  mind.  With  this 
state  of  mind  comes  the  sense  of 
personal  need,  a  realization  of  new 
found  values,  a  spirit  of  submission 
and  a  determination  to  use  the  instru- 
ment prayer.  Were  we  to  seek  that 
state  of  mind  in  geography  and  lit- 
erature and  biography,  we  would  travel 
in  imagination  to  Palestine,  open  our 
Bibles,  and  study  the  life  of  Jesus  in 
the  Gospels,  recalling  the  directing  ad- 
monition of  Saint  Paul  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  ^^Let  this  mind  be  in  you, 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus''  (Phil. 
2.  5).  Jesus  was  a  man  of  prayer,  of 
prevailing  prayer.  It  was  essential  to 
his  well-being  and  ours  that  he  should 
develop  and  maintain  his  powers  by 
communion  with  God.  Prayer  was 
nourishment  to  his  soul,  and  power  to 


84       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

his  purpose;  it  opened  the  door  to 
infinite  resources.  Men  are  lean  of 
soul,  poor  of  purpose,  Hmited  in  re- 
source, and  void  of  fruitage,  because 
they  rely  upon  mere  worldly  counsel 
and  help  for  guidance.  Jacob  was  at 
the  point  of  absolute  failure  in  spite 
of  great  keenness  and  shrewdness  of 
earthly  wisdom.  He  faced  his  crisis 
knowing  that  he  had  exhausted  his 
resources.  He  must  find  help.  He 
reaches  after  God.  Jacob  prays!  Ja- 
cob becomes  a  prince  of  God — Israel! 
Aspiring  souls  will  travel  with  Jacob 
and  Jesus  to  the  place  of  prayer. 
The  same  truth  applies  to  the  Chris- 
tian who  would  be  distinguished  as  a 
soul-winner — a  builder  of  the  kingdom. 
Tennyson  says: 


More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of. 

For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  chains  about  the  feet  of  God. 


THE   KEYNOTE  85 

There  is  evidence  that  the  church 
has  lost  the  keynote  of  power  at 
times,  with  the  result  that  the  king- 
dom has  suffered.  Christians  have  not 
been  at  harmony  among  themselves. 
In  our  own  experience,  what  we  call 
Christian  work  has  occupied  our  powers 
so  largely,  or  matters  foreign  to  the 
kingdom  have  crowded  in  and  monopo- 
lized our  time  and  energies  so  fully, 
that  we  have  had  little  time  or  thought 
for  prayer.  And  Zion  knew  no  peace 
within  her  walls  and  little  of  pros- 
perity within  her  palaces.  The  correc- 
tive is  not  far  to  seek.  Our  rallying 
cry  is:  ^^Back  to  the  Christ — the 
praying  Christ!'^  He  teaches  us  to 
pray,  ''Our  Father,  .  .  .  Thy  kingdom 


come.^^ 


11.  Prayer — ^A  Mighty  Force 

Prayer  is  a  force  to  be  used  in 
relation  to  all  human  interests.  The 
medical  faculty  acknowledge  the  value 
of  prayer  in  connection  with  the  heal- 


86       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

ing  art.  Science,  too,  attests  its  worth. 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge  in  his  book  Science 
and  Immortality  argues  as  a  scientist 
at  considerable  length  for  the  validity 
of  prayer.  '^If  we  have  any  instinct 
for  worship,'^  he  says,  ^^for  prayer, 
for  communion  with  saints,  or  with 
Deity,  let  us  trust  that  instinct,  for 
there  lies  the  realm  of  true  religion^' 
(p.  44).  '^It  may  be  that  prayer  is 
an  instrument  which  can  control  or 
influence  higher  agencies,  and  by  its 
neglect  we  may  be  losing  the  use  of 
a  mighty  engine  to  help  on  our  lives 
and  those  of  others'^  (p.  46).  Pre- 
cisely so,  as  has  been  demonstrated 
by  practical  Christianity.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  prayer  had  the  chief 
place  in  the  earliest  forms  of  Christian 
worship  and  service.  Then,  too,  in  the 
face  of  sternest  opposition,  there  was 
conquest.  There  were  mighty  men  in 
the  kingdom  in  those  early  days — con- 
querors. Of  some  of  them  we  read, 
''And    when    they    had    prayed,    the 


THE   KEYNOTE  87 

place  was  shaken  where  they  were 
assembled  together;  and  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they 
spake  the  word  of  God  with  boldness^' 
(Acts  4.  31).  The  statesmen  of  the 
kingdom  ever  have  been  wielders  of 
this  powerful  weapon.  We  are  re- 
minded that  back  of  the  Reformation 
of  the  sixteenth  century  was  the  cal- 
loused knees  of  Philip  Melancthon  and 
the  'To  have  prayed  well  is  to  have 
studied  well''  of  Martin  Luther.  Lu- 
ther has  been  esteemed  a  thunderer. 
There  was  power  back  of  his  thunder- 
ings.  It  is  said  of  him  that  when 
the  battle  of  the  Reformation  was 
hottest  and  he  was,  therefore,  busiest, 
he  felt  that  he  could  not  afford  to 
spend  less  than  four  hours  a  day  in 
prayer.  No  wonder  he  was  a  thun- 
derer— spake  the  word  of  God  with 
boldness.  When  his  heart  was  fired 
with  prayer,  he  seized  on  great  words, 
fabricated  them  into  fiashing  sentences, 
which  he  hurled  like  bombs  into  the 


88       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

midst  of  his  opponents,  to  their  con- 
sternation and  ultimate  defeat.  With- 
out the  prayer  Hfe  the  bolts  of  the 
thunderer  would  have  been  of  no  effect. 
Referring  to  the  Journal  of  John 
Wesley,  Augustine  Birrell  writes  that 
it  is  the  most  amazing  record  of  hu- 
man exertion  ever  penned  or  endured. 
He  describes  Wesley  as  the  greatest 
force  of  the  eighteenth  century  in 
England.  ^^No  single  figure  influenced 
so  many  minds,  no  single  voice  touched 
so  many  hearts.  No  other  man  did 
such  a  life's  work  for  England' '  (Mis- 
cellanies). The  lifework  of  Wesley 
saved  England  socially  and  poHtically, 
as  also  in  respect  to  rehgion.  Truly, 
he  was  a  statesman  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  We  are  not  surprised  to 
learn  that  he  always  wrote  on  the 
first  page  of  his  diaries,  "I  resolve, 
Deo  juvante — 1.  To  devote  (to  retire- 
ment and  private  prayer,)  an  hour 
morning  and  evening — no  pretense  or 
excuse  whatsoever"  (The  Life  of  John 


THE   KEYNOTE  89 

Wesley,  by  Telford,  p.  263).  Doubt- 
less he  too  spake  the  word  of  God 
with  boldness,  and  with  a  far-reaching 
effect  which  has  made  him  the  world's 
great  evangelist,  because  he  possessed 
and  did  not  lose  the  keynote  of  power 
— prayer.  George  Whitefield,  Wesley's 
co-laborer,  who  so  moved  the  hearts 
of  men  in  England  and  America  by 
his  mighty  appeals,  had  an  unvarying 
rule  of  one  hour  alone  with  God  be- 
fore preaching. 

Francis  Asbury,  the  greatest  con- 
structive force  in  American  Christian- 
ity, ^'habitually  arose  at  from  four  to 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  gave 
from  three  to  four  hours  to  prayer 
and  study,  and  also  as  constantly,  be- 
fore retiring  for  the  night,  gave  him- 
self at  least  one  hour  to  like  pursuits" 
(Francis  Asbury,  by  George  P.  Mains, 
p.  107).  "He  seemed  well-nigh  literally 
to  fulfill  the  precept  of  Saint  Paul 
to  'pray  without  ceasing.'  He  was  a 
true  brother  of  Baxter,  who  'stained 


90       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

his  study  walls  with  the  very  breath 
of  prayer'  ''  (Ibid.,  p.  107).  ^Treeborn 
Garrettson  said  of  him,  ^He  prayed  the 
best,  and  prayed  the  most,  of  any 
man  I  ever  knew'  ''  (Ibid.,  p.  109). 
In  spite  of  difficulties  almost  insuper- 
able in  the  field,  and  of  physical  frailty 
which  would  have  been  prostrating  to 
most  men,  this  man  exalted  the  office 
of  a  bishop  by  labors  almost  unthink- 
able, ever  exercising  this  power  of 
prayer.  ^^Some  measure  of  his  achieve- 
ments may  be  indicated  by  comparing 
the  numerical  status  of  the  denomina- 
tion at  the  beginning  and  at  the  close 
of  his  episcopal  career.  When  at 
thirty-nine  years  of  age  he  was  or- 
dained bishop  the  denomination  com- 
prised but  eighty  preachers  and  less 
than  15,000  members.  When  in  his 
seventy-first  year  he  dropped  his  man- 
tle he  was  the  acknowledged  and 
venerated  leader  of  more  than  211,000 
Methodists  and  more  than  700  preach- 
ers" (Ibid.,  p.  125).    Yes,  this  Christian 


THE   KEYNOTE  91 

statesman  prayed;  evidently,  he  too 
was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
spake  the  word  of  God  with  con- 
vincing boldness. 

Some  years  ago,  when  Mr.  George 
Muller  visited  America,  he  was  asked 
how  long  he  had  ever  prayed  con- 
tinuously for  any  object.  ^Taking  a 
little  book  from  his  pocket,  he  said: 
When  I  was  converted  I  was  a  wild 
boy  in  college.  My  conversion  broke 
friendship  between  my  roommate  and 
myself,  for  he  ^Vould  have  nothing  to 
do  with  such  a  fanatic, ^^  he  said.  I 
wrote  his  name  in  this  book  and 
promised  God  that  I  would  pray  for 
him  each  day  until  he  was  converted, 
or  until  I  died.  I  prayed  five  years 
with  no  apparent  result.  Ten  years 
went  by  with  no  change.  I  continued 
on  for  fifteen  years — twenty  years,  and 
still  he  was  an  unbeliever.  I  did  not 
yet  give  him  up,  but  prayed  twenty- 
five  years,  each  day  mentioning  his 
name    at    the    throne    of    grace,    and 


92        PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

then  came  a  letter,  saying,  ^^I  have 
found  the  Saviour."  Then,'  said  Mr. 
Muller,  'I  checked  out  this  petition 
as  answered.  In  this  same  book  I 
have  other  names  that  I  have  prayed 
for  five,  ten,  and  fifteen  years,  and 
scores  of  names  against  which  there  is 
a  cross,  showing  that  the  requests  have 
been  granted.' 

^^Here,  then,  was  a  man  who  made 
a  business  of  prayer,  and  who  kept 
his  accounts  with  the  Lord  in  a  bus- 
inessUke  way.  When  he  had  a  matter 
to  present  to  God's  attention,  he  first 
found  a  promise  on  which  to  base 
his  appeal,  always  making  sure,  if  possi- 
ble, that  it  was  according  to  God's 
will.  Then  he  recorded  his  petition  in 
a  book  and  watched  and  waited  for 
the  answer.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
this  man's  faith  grew  rapidly,  and  that 
he  became  the  most  notable  and,  possi- 
bly, the  most  successful  pray-er  of 
modern  times?"  (What  Every  Chris- 
tian Needs  to  Know,  by  Howard  W. 


THE   KEYNOTE  93 

Pope,  pp.  194,  195.)  MuUer  founded 
and  supported  great  orphanages  in 
Bristol,  England,  never  making  a  public 
appeal  for  funds,  but  always  laying 
the  needs  of  the  cause  before  God  in 
prayer.  He  never  lacked.  His  work 
extended  over  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. He  has  been  called  a  million- 
aire by  faith.  As  we  have  seen,  his 
practice  of  prayer  extended  to  direct 
soul-winning  activities  as  well. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  there 
will  be  even  greater  inspiration  for 
the  multitude  in  the  fact  that  lowly 
folk  have  found  power  in  prayer.  Dr. 
W.  J.  Dawson,  in  his  stirring  little 
volume.  The  Forgotten  Secret,  reminds 
us  that  ^The  greatest  revival  in  our 
generation,  in  the  course  of  which 
80,000  have  publicly  confessed  Christ, 
has  found  its  sole  dynamic  in  prayer. 
There  has  been  little  preaching,  neither 
elaborate  music  nor  eloquent  appeals, 
and  no  organization  of  effort,  but  there 
has  been  abundant  praying.     In  one 


94       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

instance  known  to  me,  a  simple  farmer 
and  his  wife  unlocked  the  door  of  a 
humble  chapel  on  a  lonely  hillside,  and 
themselves  began  to  pray  for  their 
neighbors  by  name,  until  in  one  fort- 
night, drawn  by  an  invisible  compul- 
sion, more  than  fifty  persons  so  prayed 
for  came  to  this  unadvertised  meeting, 
and  yielded  themselves  to  Christ.  And 
this  story  is  typical  of  the  whole 
Welsh  revival,  which  may  be  justly 
described  as  a  rediscovery  of  the  dy- 
namic efficacy  of  prayer.  So,  then, 
the  secret  is  not  only  open  but  thor- 
oughly attested.  Nothing  proved  by 
science  is  more  plainly  verified  than 
that  prayer  is  the  supreme  dynamic 
of  the  church.  Is  not  the  deduction 
obvious,  that  when  the  church  returns 
to  the  practice  of  prayer,  as  the 
supreme  expression  of  its  life,  it  will 
at  once  rediscover  the  secret  of  con- 
quest, which  is  often  conspicuously 
absent  in  the  best  organized  revival?^' 
(The  Forgotten  Secret,  pp.  51,  52.) 


THE   KEYNOTE  95 

Dr.  Chapman  tells  of  a  gentleman 
whom  he  knew  for  years.  He  was 
one  of  seven  sons.  All  but  one  were 
Christians.  That  one  had  well-nigh 
broken  his  mo  therms  heart.  She  'Vas 
wearying  for  him,  as  the  Scotch  people 
say.     One  of  her  old  neighbors  came 

in  and  said,  ^Mrs.  M ,  why  don't 

you  give  John  up?  You  have  six 
boys  for  Christ;  rejoice  in  them  and 
let  him  go.^  'My  old  mother/  said 
my  friend,  'rose  to  her  feet,  and  taking 
hold  of  the  chair  for  support,  said: 
'I  will  never  give  him  up.  I  gave 
him  to  God  before  he  was  born.  I 
carried  him  to  the  church  as  soon  as 
I  could  walk  and  placed  him  upon 
the  altar;  he  is  God's  child  and  he 
will  have  him  if  he  turns  the  world 
over  to  get  him.'  'And  she  lived  long 
enough,'  said  my  friend,  'to  see  her 
boy  a  Christian,  a  judge  in  one  of  the 
highest  courts  in  America,  and  an 
officer  in  the  church"  (Present-Day 
Evangelism,  by  J.  Wilbur  Chapman, 


96       PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

pp.  142,  143).  Thank  God  that  so  many 
mothers  know  the  power  of  prayer! 

Bishop  Nuelsen,  writing  from  Bul- 
garia during  the  recent  war,  says: 
^^Over  yonder  in  Ruschuk  a  good 
Methodist  woman  prayed  earnestly  for 
her  unconverted  husband  in  the  field 
and  was  joined  in  her  petition  by  the 
whole  congregation.  Some  weeks  later 
she  came  to  prayer  meeting  and  with 
a  happy  smile  and  a  heart  filled  with 
gratitude  she  read  a  letter  from  her 
husband,  in  which  he  wrote  that  in 
the  trenches  before  Adrianople  he  had 
given  his  heart  to  Christ  and  knew 
Christ  as  his  personal  Saviour'^  (The 
Christian  Advocate,  May  22,  1913,  p. 
718).  Truly,  humble  folk  have  found 
triumph  in  prayer. 

Now,  a  single  page  out  of  the  book 
of  personal  experience.  I  had  been 
privileged  to  act  as  college  pastor  at 
Cazenovia  Seminary,  Cazenovia,  New 
York,  for  a  week.  Christian  counsel 
in  public  speech  and  in  private  con- 


THE    KEYNOTE  97 

versation  was  the  rule.  Among  other 
results  were  more  than  a  score  of  de- 
cisions for  Christ  and  reconsecrations 
to  his  service.  When  the  campaign 
was  over,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr. 
Skinner,  the  president,  1  dictated  let- 
ters to  the  parents  or  guardians  of 
the  young  people  who  had  come  to 
decision.    Here  is  one  answer: 

G B ,  Pa.,  Dec.  20,  1913. 

Dear  Mr.  Burgwin: 

We  wish  to  thank  you  for  your  very  kind 
letter,  teUing  us  the  glad  news  that  our  boy 

had  made  a  decision  for  Christ.  .  .  .  W 

had  almost  lost  faith  in  his  home  church, 
and  you  cannot  imagine  how  thankful  we  are 
that  he  has  made  a  start  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. .  .  .  Mr.  S ,  an  evangehst,  is  hold- 
ing meetings  here.  Monday  an  invitation 
was  given  for  those  who  desired  special  prayer 
for  their  dear  ones  to  come  forward.  I  hesi^ 
tated,  but  something  seemed  to  say,  ''Go.'' 
I  went  and  offered  silent  prayer  for  my  boy, 
and  to-day  came  your  letter  as  an  answer 
to  prayer.  .  .  . 

Yours  ^dth  gratitude, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  E C . 


98        PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

No  wonder  S.  D.  Gordon  says:  ^The 
greatest  thing  anyone  can  do  for  God 
and  for  man  is  to  pray.  It  is  not  the 
only  thing,  but  it  is  the  chief  thing'' 
(Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer,  by  S.  D. 
Gordon,  p.  12). 

It  is  this  great  thing  which  gives 
the  Christian  and  the  Church 

III.  The  Assurance  of  Victory 

But  there  is  no  victory  without  the 
keynote.  When  machinery  has  been 
operated  for  a  considerable  period  it 
is  apt  to  develop  what  is  called  ^lost 
motion,''  which  means  a  loss  of  power. 
Something  needs  to  be  done  to  restore 
it  to  effectiveness.  The  skilled  work- 
man comes;  he  turns  a  screw  here, 
tightens  a  tension  there,  adjusts  new 
parts  it  may  be,  and  the  old  machine 
is  as  good  as  new.  When  the  church 
has  developed  ^lost  motion"  and  lacks 
conquering  momentum,  it  is  because  of 
lost  power.  Then  its  members  should 
follow   the   example   of  Jesus   in   the 


THE   KEYNOTE  99 

practice  of  prayer,  and  heed  anew  his 
teaching,  ''When  ye  pray,  say,  Our 
Father,  .  .  .  Thy  kingdom  come.'' 

I  do  not  understand  that  prayer  for 
our  non-Christian  friends  compels  them 
to  become  Christians  in  the  sense  that 
against  their  own  wills  they  become 
faithful  to  Jesus  Christ.  I  feel,  rather, 
that  the  fervent,  earnest  prayer  of  the 
righteous  has  a  direct  influence  upon 
the  inner  life  of  those  for  whom  we 
pray;  that  our  spirits  thus  working  to- 
gether with  the  divine  Spirit  do  bring 
our  friends  face  to  face  with  the  eter- 
nal verities,  influencing  them  to  give 
these  truths  the  consideration  which 
they  deserve,  with  the  result  that  they 
at  length  act  as  they  know  they 
ought.  Thus  the  hfe  of  the  spirit 
within  them  is  quickened  and  they  are 
born  again,  as  all  must  be  who  enter 
God's  kingdom. 

Most  surely  this  prayer  of  the  church 
is  being  answered.  The  vision  of  the 
revelator  inspires  us  with   new  zeal. 


100     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Here  is  his  record:  ^The  seventh  angel 
sounded;  and  there  were  great  voices 
in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of 
this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ;  and  he 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever^^  (Rev.  11. 
15).  The  answer  is  sure,  for  so  it  is 
writ. 

Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run; 

His  kingdom  spread  from  shore  to  shore, 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more. 

(Isaac  Watts.) 

Amen  land  Amen!    ^ 'Our  Father,  .  .  . 
Thy  kingdom  come!^' 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  FORCE 

There  is  a  statement  in  the  eighth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Acts  which 
gives  us  a  view  of  the  early  church 
at  work.  It  reads:  ^Therefore  they 
that  were  scattered  abroad  went  every- 
where preaching  the  word''  (Acts  8.  4). 
Persecution  at  Jerusalem  scattered  the 
followers  of  Jesus,  excepting  the  apos- 
tles, throughout  the  regions  of  Judaea 
and  Samaria.  Unexpectedly  a  great 
door  of  opportunity  was  opened,  into 
which  these  disciples  entered,  for  they 
^  Vent  everywhere  preaching  the  word.'' 
Their  preaching  was  not  in  the  formal 
fashion  with  which  we  are  most  fa- 
miliar; it  was  the  bringing  of  the  glad 
tidings,  the  heralding  of  the  evangel, 
in  conversation  with  individuals,  and 
by  informal  address  to  groups.  Thus, 
what  appeared  at  the  first  a  dire  mis- 
fortune  was   resolved   into   a   mighty 

101 


102     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

blessing.  It  made  Christianity  a  uni- 
versal religion,  and  saved  it  from  be- 
coming a  mere  provincial  faith.  The 
persecuted  Christians  were  transformed 
into  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with. 

Dr.  C.  H.  Parkhurst  recalls  that  it 
was  once  remarked  by  the  late  Wil- 
ham  E.  Dodge  that  a  church  is  a 
preacher^s  force,  not  his  field.  Let  us 
consider  the  church  as  ^The  Force, ^' 
to  be  used  by  God  to  bring  his  king- 
dom to  mankind. 

I.  The  Force 

God  was  and  is  at  work  in  this 
w^orld  reconciling  men  and  women  unto 
himself.  He  works  through  and  ap- 
peals to  individuals.  His  children  are 
summoned  to  this  task  as  workers 
together  with  him.  The  common  prac- 
tice now  is  for  Christians  to  work  by 
proxy.  Through  their  church  they  sup- 
port a  professional  ministry,  and  the 
proclamation  of  the  evangel  is  deputed 
to   the   preacher,   with   the   pulpit   as 


THE   FORCE  103 

his  vantage  ground.  The  preacher  and 
the  pulpit  are  not  to  be  despised  and 
dispensed  with.  God  knows  they  are 
needed,  for  he  has  called  the  preacher 
and  estabhshed  the  pulpit.  But  world 
Christianization  is  not  possible  by  this 
method  merely.  There  is  a  force 
which  is  adequate  for  the  great  task.  ~ 
Were  we  discussing  a  miUtary  cam- 
paign, we  would  not  have  the  slight- 
est difficulty  in  interpreting  the  word 
'^force.'^  It  would  refer  to  a  body  of 
soldiers,  larger  or  smaller.  And  this 
body  of  soldiers  would  be  composed, 
in  general,  of  officers  and  ordinary 
privates.  The  officers  would  be  respon- 
sible for  the  campaign  in  degree  deter- 
mined by  their  rank.  The  private 
soldiers  would  move  and  fight  under 
the  command  and  leadership  of  their 
officers.  Campaigns  are  not  won  with- 
out leaders,  and  battles  are  not  fought 
without  soldiers.  In  these  days  great 
emphasis  is  being  put  upon  the  im- 
portance of  the  common  soldier.    The 


104      PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

church,  I  have  said,  is  the  force  to 
be  used  of  God  in  winning  men  to 
his  kingdom.  There  is  a  close  analogy 
between  an  army  and  the  church. 

Like  a  mighty  army 

Moves  the  church  of  God. 

II.  How  Constituted 

Providentially  the  church  is  well  con- 
stituted to  be  used  as  a  force  without 
any  great  readjustment,  excepting  in 
the  very  important  matter  of  activity. 
As  an  army  has  its  private  soldiers  and 
its  official  staff,  so  a  church  has  its 
membership  and  its  officiary.  This 
characteristic  of  church  organization 
goes  back  to  a  very  early  date.  The 
first  approach  to  an  official  Board  of 
which  we  have  intimation  in  the  New 
Testament  is  found  in  the  sixth  chap- 
ter of  the  book  of  Acts.  It  grew  out 
of  a  special  emergency.  Some  there 
were  who  felt  that  in  a  certain  de- 
partment of  the  work  there  was  neglect 
of   a   group   of   Christians.      No    evil 


THE    FORCE  105 

intent  is  charged.  The  apostles,  against 
whom  the  complaint  was  made,  acted 
wisely  in  requesting  that  they  be  re- 
lieved of  this  detail  work  and  that 
seven  brethren  be  elected  from  the 
multitude  of  the  disciples  to  have 
charge — ^^seven  men  of  honest  report, 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom, 
whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  bus- 
iness" (Acts  6.  3).  The  ''seven''  were 
duly  elected  and  assumed  their  respon- 
sibilities as  prescribed.  It  is  so  re- 
corded, and  their  names  are  given 
(Acts  6.  5).  We  know  that  two  of 
these  seven  were  active  and  successful 
evangelists,  for  so  it  is  stated  expressly, 
namely,  Stephen  (Acts  6.  8ff.)  and 
Philip  (Acts  8.  5;  21.  8).  We  observe 
too  that  subsequently  evangelism  was 
not  an  uncommon  practice  among  all 
the  Christians,  for  we  have  read  that 
''They  therefore  that  were  scattered 
abroad  went  everywhere  preaching  the 
word,''  I  doubt  not  all  the  seven 
were  eminent  in  this  work,  but  two 


106     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

at  least  of  their  number  were  pre- 
eminent. These  officials  of  the  early 
church,  having  the  full  confidence  of 
the  Christian  community,  set  an  exam- 
ple of  evangelizing  zeal  which  was  not 
lost  upon  the  members.  The  followers 
of  Christ  were  convinced,  evidently, 
that  it  was  their  privilege  and  business 
to  enroll  disciples  for  Jesus  Christ. 
They  acted  accordingly,  with  remark- 
able results.  If  the  apostles  and  their 
successors,  in  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere, 
had  been  the  only  gospel  preachers,  it 
is  highly  probable  that  Christianity 
would  have  perished  in  the  first  cen- 
tury. It  survived  because  of  con- 
secrated leadership  and  a  unity  of 
activity  on  the  part  of  most  Christians. 
The  church  as  an  army  of  conquest 
and  occupation,  as  now  constituted, 
has  a  great  advantage  over  the  early 
church.  To-day  the  church  is  estab- 
lished. There  is  not  one  society  only, 
but  thousands  of  them  throughout  the 
world,  with  millions  of  members,  under 


THE   FORCE  lOT 

an  effective  ministry,  and  each  society 
with  an  organization  of  officials.  The 
average  local  church  will  have  from 
twenty  to  thirty  officials.  These  per- 
sons are  selected  because  of  certain 
expected  qualifications.  I  open  our 
Book  of  Discipline  and  read:  ^^Let  the 
stewards  be  persons  of  solid  piety  who 
are  members  of  the  church  in  the 
pastoral  charge,  who  both  know  and 
love  Methodist  doctrine  and  Discipline, 
and  are  of  good  natural  and  acquired 
abilities  to  transact  the  temporal  bus- 
iness of  the  church^'  (Discipline  1912, 
p.  213,  Par.  306).  Concerning  trustees 
it  is  required  that  two  thirds  of  the 
number  shall  be  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  prac- 
tice, so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  all 
have  been  members.  Doubtless,  there 
are  emergencies  which  make  exceptions 
necessary.  It  is  well  understood  in 
our  Methodism  that  class  leaders,  Sun- 
day school  superintendents,  Epworth 
League  presidents,  Brotherhood  pres- 


108     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

idents,  and  all  persons  in  positions  of 
responsibility,  shall  exemplify  Christian 
character,  and  it  is  at  least  hoped 
that  they  have  the  ability  to  teach 
and  inspire  others.  We  have  stand- 
ards for  the  selection  of  officials,  it  is 
evident,  and  they  approximate  the 
ideal  dictated  by  the  apostles — ^'men 
of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  wisdom/^  This  is  true;  at 
least,  as  a  rule,  the  members  of  the 
official  board  of  a  normal  church  are 
the  peers  of  any  group  of  equal  num- 
ber in  the  community  as  to  intel- 
ligence, integrity,  industry,  and  ability. 
The  interests  of  the  community — com- 
mercial, professional,  political,  social, 
charitable,  civic,  as  well  as  rehgious — ■ 
are  represented  upon  the  official  boards 
of  most  churches.  No  group  of  persons 
in  the  church  are  so  widely  or  so 
favorably  known.  None  have  so  great 
an  influence.  They  are  key  men. 
These  facts  are  potent.  They  offer 
an  advantage,  and  are  an  asset  which 


THE   FORCE  109 

every  church  should  be  permitted  to 
use. 

Official  position  presents  a  great 
opportunity  for  spiritual  as  well  as 
temporal  leadership.  Opportunity,  we 
are  agreed,  spells  responsibility,  and 
responsibility  ever  stands  for  duty. 
As  the  directors  of  the  material  in- 
terests of  the  church,  there  is  no 
saner  way  than  by  wise  evangehsm 
in  which  they  can  conserve  their  own 
success  as  officers  and  at  the  same 
time  promote  the  advantage  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Finances  are  never 
freer  than  under  the  impulse  of  a 
genuine  revival.  Further,  members  are 
increased,  so  that  the  financial  con- 
stituency of  the  church  is  enlarged. 
But  all  of  this  should  be  viewed  as  a 
by-product  of  the  spiritual  triumph — 
spoils  of  battle  willingly  surrendered. 
As  the  officers  of  an  army,  the  officiary 
of  the  church  should  lead  their  various 
departments  to  Christian  conquest. 
And    the    campaign    plan    should    in- 


110     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

elude  the  service  of  every  member. 
This  is  not  the  common  view  of 
official  duty.  A  revision  of  thought 
and  of  action  in  this  matter  is  the 
crying  demand  of  the  time  throughout 
the  whole  church.  The  sooner  it  is 
realized  the  better.  I  have  known  in- 
stances in  which  such  change  of  view 
has  been  secured  with  marked  results. 
Under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Lewis  K. 
Moore  remarkable  revivals,  stirring  the 
whole  community  with  apparently  im- 
possible conversions,  occurred  at  South- 
ampton and  Jamaica,  Long  Island, 
New  York.  This  effective  pastor-evan- 
gelist writes:  '^At  Southampton  and 
Jamaica  I  had  exceptional  work  be- 
cause of  the  cooperation  of  my  official 
men — difficult  to  get  but  finally  se- 
cured. I  insisted  that  officials  of  the 
church  were  the  official  church,  and 
that  organic  official  cooperation  only 
could  secure  success  in  evangehstic  ef- 
fort. In  Southampton  I  pledged  every 
official  to  attendance  and  support  of 


THE   FORCE  111 

the  services  during  the  series,  taking 
the  stand  that  the  officials  are  the 
leaders,  and  the  people  are  doomed 
to  follow  their  leaders.  In  Jamaica 
again  I  was  successful  in  securing  the 
cooperation  of  my  board  as  such,  and 
we  had  a  similar  result.  My  expe- 
rience is,  if  you  can  get  the  sym- 
pathetic cooperation  of  your  board, 
you  have  a  revival  that  nothing  can 
hinder.  Without  it  Utile  can  be  accom- 
plished. The  most  superhuman  task 
of  the  day  is  to  get  our  officials.  My 
experience  is,  get  them  and  the  rest 
is  easy.^^ 

Of  course  leadership  is  valueless  un- 
less some  are  led.  Church  officials 
imply  a  church  membership — a  force 
to  be  employed.  Soldiers,  when  they 
enlist,  are  pledged  to  fight  for  their 
country;  if  needs  be,  to  suffer  wounds; 
even  to  seal  their  loyalty  with  their 
lives.  He  who  enlists  as  a  soldier 
of  Jesus  Christ  assumes  responsibility 
also.    He  makes  vows.    Every  church 


112     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

member  has  declared  deliberately  faith 
in  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  He  has 
solemnly  covenanted  to  hold  sacred 
the  ordinances  of  God,  and  to  en- 
deavor, as  much  as  in  him  lies,  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  brethren 
and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom.  More  than  this,  he 
has  in  the  baptismal  covenant  spe- 
cifically renounced  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil.  He  has  promised  too, 
before  God  and  his  people,  to  obe- 
diently keep  God's  holy  will  and  com- 
mandments, and  to  walk  in  the  same 
all  the  days  of  his  life,  God  being 
his  helper.  Here  are  pledges  to  serv- 
ice, indeed — Christian  service.  To 
honor  them  may  mean  suffering.  In 
other  days  it  has  meant  martyrdom. 
That  there  are  souls  among  us  in 
larger  numbers  than  we  surmise  who 
would  even  die  for  their  faith  I  doubt 
not.  But  God's  holy  will  and  com- 
mandments are  not  being  kept,  and 
the   advancement   of   the   Redeemer's 


THE    FORCE  113 

kingdom    is    not    being    promoted    as 
they  should  be,  under  present  methods. 

And  so  they've  voted  the  Devil  out, 

And  of  course  the  Devil's  gone; 
But  simple  people  would  like  to  know, 
Who  carries  his  business  on? 

(See  Thinking  Black,  p.  228, 
by  Dan  Crawford.) 

III.  Its  Methods 

It  is  the  supreme  business  of  the 
church,  through  its  individual  mem- 
bers, to  make  disciples  and  to  build 
them  up  in  our  most  holy  faith.  This 
is  the  intent  of  the  great  commission 
(Matt.  28.  19,  20).  It  should  be,  then, 
the  immediate  purpose  and  the  in- 
sistent determination  of  every  church 
member,  official  and  ordinary,  to  real- 
ize for  himself  practically  this  expecta- 
tion. John  Wesley,  in  his  early  man- 
hood, '^met  a  ^serious  man'  who  said 
to  him:  'Sir,  you  wish  to  serve  God 
and  go  to  heaven.  Remember,  you 
cannot  serve  him  alone.      You  must 


114     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

therefore  find  companions  or  make 
them.  The  Bible  knows  nothing  of 
solitary  religion'  '^  (Birrell,  Miscel- 
lanies). That  message  impressed  John 
Wesley  profoundly.  He  never  forgot 
it,  and  he  never  ceased  to  find  com- 
panions and  to  make  them.  More,  he 
insisted  that  the  companions  he  found 
and  made  should  act  on  a  like  prin- 
ciple. And  they  did,  hosts  of  them. 
His  followers  to-day  should  do  no  less, 
for  'The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  sol- 
itary reUgion.^'  Here  is  the  truth 
which  contains  a  suggestion  as  to  the 
effective  method  to  be  used  by  God's 
force,  the  church,  for  the  conquest  of 
the  world. 

Dean  Birney,  of  Boston  University 
School  of  Theology,  moved  to  its 
depths  the  National  Convention  of 
Methodist  Men,  at  Indianapolis,  Indi- 
ana, by  his  wide-heralded  address, 
'The  New  Day  in  Evangehsm."  Dr. 
Birney  speaks  of  Peter's  preaching  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.     He  says  that 


THE   FORCE  115 

'^the  final  reality  in  this  universe  is 
not  any  truth  that  Peter  announced 
or  that  can  be  announced  in  any 
pubHc  appeal.  That  final  reaHty  is 
personahty,  and  the  only  evangelism 
that  will  ever  bring  this  world  to  God 
is  the  evangelism  that  personalizes  it- 
self as  evangelism  has  never  done  in 
the  past.  .  .  .  The  coming  evangehsm 
will  not  simply  depend  upon  a  few 
preachers  and  a  few  missionaries,  but 
upon  a  multitude  of  persons;  it  will 
use  the  foolishness  of  preaching  not 
less,  but  it  will  use  the  high  wisdom 
of  redeemed  personality  immeasurably 
more.  The  sermon  that  won  the  three 
thousand  to  Christ  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  has  dominated  our  ideals  and 
methods  all  too  long.  We  have  too 
long  tried  to  bring  in  the  Kingdom 
by  addition,  and  the  Kingdom  will 
never  come  except  by  arithmetical  pro- 
gression. If  Peter  had  saved  three 
thousand  souls  every  day  after  Pente- 
cost,   and    if    his    so-called    apostolic 


116     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

successors  had  had  religion  enough  to 
do  the  same  thing,  it  would  have  taken 
a  thousand  years  to  bring  the  world 
to  Christ  as  the  world  was  in  Peter's 
day,  and  there  would  have  been  thirty 
new  generations  unaccounted  for;  but 
if  each  of  the  three  thousand  had 
gone  out  to  save  one  a  year,  and 
each  new  disciple  had  done  the  same, 
the  entire  world  would  have  been 
reached  for  Jesus  Christ  a  whole  gen- 
eration before  the  Gospel  of  John  was 
written.  If  his  blessed  feet  were  lift- 
ing from  this  earth  to-day  in  ascen- 
sion, leaving  twelve  men  to  save  fifteen 
hundred  million,  and  all  the  world 
were  pagan  besides,  and  the  twelve 
were  to  go  forth  each  to  win  one  a 
year,  and  each  convert  were  to  do 
the  same,  before  the  babe  born  yester- 
day would  reach  eight  and  twenty 
summers,  every  man  and  woman  in 
this  world  would  have  been  brought 
to  God,  or  at  least  have  had  the 
gospel    preached    to    him    or    her.      I 


THE   FORCE  117 

submit  that,  in  the  light  of  that  fact, 
these  nineteen  hundred  years  of  so- 
called  Christian  history  are  dangerously 
near  to  blasphemy  when  they  are  held 
up  against  the  white  light  of  the  cross. 
And  in  the  light  of  that  fact  the 
dream  that  has  been  in  great  souls, 
of  the  gospel  being  preached  to  every 
creature  in  this  generation  is  not  fan- 
ciful at  all,  but  is  of  easy  accomplish- 
ment if  every  nominal  discipleship  were 
vitalized  into  reality"  (see  The  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  New  York,  December 
11,  1913).  Calculate  for  yourself  how 
this  principle  would  apply  to  your  own 
community.  Then  do  what  you  can 
to  introduce  it  as  a  method  to  be 
persisted  in.  Soon  the  Christian  church 
would  be  recognized  as  a  conquering 
force. 

The  church,  as  a  force,  composed 
of  a  membership  united  to  realize  a 
great  expectation — the  coming  of  God's 
kingdom — is  to  labor,  each  member  in 
his    place,    being    conformed    to    the 


118     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

principles  and  practices  of  the  king- 
dom. Faith!  Obedience!  Service! 
Real  faith!  Purposeful  obedience!  Ag- 
gressive and  intelligent  service!  Chris- 
tian endeavor  which  is  not  perfunctory, 
formal,  a  bore;  but  real,  based  upon 
a  devout  consecration  to  God  and  his 
kingdom — a  consecration  so  thorough 
as  to  make  Christian  work  pleasurable, 
enjoyable,  a  dehght.  Such  a  consecra- 
tion as  will  lead  Christians  to  cry  out, 
^Woe,  woe  is  me,  if  I  tell  not  the 
glad  tidings !^^  If  we  could — if  we 
would,  in  view  of  the  pressing  need — 
but  saturate  ourselves  with  the  great 
things  of  the  gospel;  the  awfulness  of 
sin,  the  possibility  of  repentance  .and 
consequent  pardon,  the  fact  of  sonship 
with  God  and  the  holy  life  in  Christ 
Jesus,  remembering  on  the  other  hand 
the  facts  of  retribution,  alienation 
from  God  consequent  upon  impen- 
itence, with  the  assurance  of  an  im- 
mortality, for  weal  or  woe,  determined 
by  man's  attitude  toward  gospel  truth 


THE   FORCE  119 

— 0  how  burning  would  be  the  zeal 
of  our  souls,  how  vital  our  service, 
how  all-conquering  the  results! 

Fling  out  the  banner!  sin-sick  souls 
That  sink  and  perish  in  the  strife 

Shall  touch  in  faith  its  radiant  hem, 
And  spring  immortal  into  hfe. 

(George  W.  Doane.) 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  FIELD 

'^Say  not  ye,  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  harvest?  be- 
hold, I  say  unto  you.  Lift  up  your 
eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields;  for  they 
are  white  already  to  harvest"  (John 
4.  35). 

When  Jesus  came  into  Samaria, 
where  his  disciples  least  expected  it, 
there  he  found  a  field  ready  for  sow- 
ing, out  of  which  was  reaped  at  once 
an  abundant  harvest.  The  woman 
with  whom  he  conversed  at  Jacob's 
Well  was  converted.  ^^And  many  of 
the  Samaritans  of  that  city  believed 
on  him  for  the  saying  of  the  woman'' 
(John  4.  39).  He  abode  there  two 
days.  It  is  written,  ^^And  many  more 
believed  because  of  his  own  word" 
(John  4.  41).  That  was  a  remarkable 
harvest.  There  was  a  quick  sowing, 
and  an  immediate  reaping.    There  are 

120 


THE  FIELD  121 

no  intimations  that  such  experience  is 
to  be  expected  every  time.  Jesus  him- 
self was  not  thus  favored.  But  it  is 
evident  that  the  Master-EvangeHst, 
with  open  vision,  seized  immediately 
the  opportunity  for  sowing  and  reap- 
ing when  it  presented  itself.  And  to 
us  he  never  ceases  to  say,  ^Tollow 
me,'^  and  ^'Go,  and  do  thou  likewise^^ 
(Luke  10.  37). 

Recognizing  as  Christians  the  duty 
imparted  by  the  great  commission,  it 
is  pertinent  indeed  for  us  to  inquire 
as  to  the  field  in  which  we  are  to 
labor,  that  we  may  return  with  joy 
at  the  great  ^'harvest  home,''  bringing 
our  sheaves  with  us. 

I.  The  Revival  Campaign 

The  time  was  when  men  thought 
that  the  open  church,  with  a  rousing 
revival  campaign,  to  which  the  people 
came  in  throngs,  was  the  great  field 
for  evangelism.  The  bulk  of  the 
membership  for  many  churches  came 


122     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

from  this  field.  Nor  is  this  oppor- 
tunity exhausted.  It  still  yields  a 
good  harvest.  Occasionally,  conditions 
are  present — the  fields  are  ripe  unto 
the  harvest — under  which  the  revival 
campaign  produces  a  wonderful  return. 
Of  course,  if  even  one  soul  is  truly 
converted,  any  expenditure  of  time  and 
means  is  justified,  for  as  Billy  Bray, 
the  little,  illiterate  Cornish  miner-evan- 
gelist, used  to  say,  ^^One  souFs  worth 
more  'n  all  o'  Lunnon.'^  To-day, 
however,  we  face  competing  and  di- 
verting influences  exceeding  anything 
our  forebears  knew.  Providentially, 
we  have  opportunities  and  facilities, 
offering  a  favorable  field  for  practical 
evangelism  more  far-reaching  than  was 
possible  in  our  early  church  history, 
or  ever  before,  in  America.  The  re- 
vival campaign  has  its  place.  It  never 
will  be  superseded;  but  it  is  to  be 
supplemented  and  made  effective  by 
such  other  evangelistic  opportunities 
as  may  be  at  hand. 


THE  FIELD  123 

To-day,  so  far  as  the  field  is  con- 
cerned, when  we  think  of  practical 
evangelism,  a  foremost  embarrassment 
is  the  magnitude  of  opportunity.  Our 
most  accessible  and  most  productive 
field  for  evangelism  is  the  Sunday 
school.  The  cultivation  of  this  field 
is  worthy  of  our  deepest  devotion,  our 
completest  consecration  of  time  and 
talent.  In  his  Indianapolis  address. 
Dean  Birney  pleaded  that  the  church 
centralize  its  efforts  around  the  con- 
servation of  life  instead  of  the  reclama- 
tion of  life.  ^ There  is  just  one  way 
to  save  loss,^'  he  says,  ^^the  incalculable 
loss  that  our  church  has  sustained  all 
along,  and  that  is  by  feeding  lambs 
instead  of  hunting  sheep"  (^The  New 
Day  in  Evangelism."  The  Christian 
Advocate,  December  11,  1913).  He 
urges,  if  we  cannot  do  both  (we  can), 
that  we  keep  the  lambs  and  let  the 
few  sheep  stray,  rather  than  to  hunt 
a  few  sheep  and  let  the  lambs  scatter, 
never   to   be   found   again.      Cure   of 


124     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

disease  is  good.  This  no  one  will 
deny.  But,  surely,  prevention  is  better. 
Wild  oats  and  whirlwinds  are  not 
essential  to  salvation.  Indeed,  such 
sowing  and  reaping  reduce  very  largely, 
not  the  possibility  but  the  probability 
of  salvation.  Dr.  Birney  utters  a  pro- 
found truth  when  he  says  that  the 
kingdom  will  never  be  here  until  the 
child  is  placed  in  the  heart  and  center 
of  all  our  prayers  and  efforts.  The 
Sunday  school  makes  it  possible  for 
the  church  to  act  on  this  principle. 

II.  The  Sunday  School  as  a  Field 

Survey  with  me  the  Sunday  school 
as  a  field  for  practical  evangelism. 
According  to  Dr.  Edgar  Blake,  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sun- 
day schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  our  present  (January,  1914) 
Sunday  school  enrollment  is  4,326,934, 
which  is  a  gain  of  1,034,469  in  six 
years.  The  increase  for  the  past  six 
years  has  been  three  times  as  great  as 


THE  FIELD  125 

for  the  same  period  preceding.  Our 
Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  schools 
have  reported  the  conversion  of  more 
than  950,000  scholars  during  the  past 
six  years,  and  have  contributed  prob- 
ably not  less  than  that  number  to  the 
membership  of  the  church.  Were  it 
not  for  the  accessions  from  the  Sunday 
schools,  our  church  membership  would 
decline  at  the  rate  of  100,000  a  year. 
In  the  year  1913  our  schools  report 
the  conversion  of  more  than  178,000 
scholars.  Seven  hundred  more  schools 
report  the  conversion  of  scholars  this 
year  than  last,  all  of  which  is  well 
and  encouraging,  too.  In  Dr.  Blake's 
annual  report,  made  in  January,  1914, 
from  which  we  cull  facts  and  figures, 
the  statistical  returns  for  the  year 
1913  show  that  we  now  have:  35,632 
Sunday  schools;  383,825  officers  and 
teachers;  198,703  members  of  Home 
Department;  281,178  members  of  Cra- 
dle RoU;  3,402,278  scholars  of  all 
grades. 


126     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Every  denomination  has  a  great 
opportunity  for  evangelism  in  its  Sun- 
day schools.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  the  greatest,  for  ours  is 
the  largest  single  Sunday  school  con- 
stituency in  the  world.  As  Dr.  Blake 
figures  it,  it  numbers  a  million  more 
members  than  all  of  the  Baptist  denom- 
inations combined.  It  is  twice  as  large 
as  all  the  Presbyterians  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  It  numbers  more 
than  three  times  as  many  members 
as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South;  nearly  four  times  as  many  as 
the  Disciples;  more  than  six  times  as 
many  as  the  Congregational;  and  more 
than  eight  times  as  many  as  the  Epis- 
copalian. Truly,  our  Sunday  schools 
offer  a  great  field  for  practical  evan- 
gelism ! 

Our  Sunday  school  leaders  have  been 
insisting  for  some  years  that  the  Sun- 
day school  is  the  essential  element  in 
the  development  of  the  church.  Their 
claim  is  verified  by  the  figures  which 


THE   FIELD  127 

they  have  been  able  to  present.  They 
inform  us  that  ninety-five  per  cent  of 
our  ministers  started  in  the  Sunday 
school;  ninety  per  cent  of  our  church 
workers  came  out  of  the  Sunday  school; 
seventy  per  cent  of  our  churches  were 
first  started  as  Sunday  schools,  and 
eighty-five  per  cent  of  our  church 
membership  came  from  the  Sunday 
school.  In  this  connection  we  must 
remember  that  five  sixths  of  all  con- 
versions occur  before  the  passing  of 
the  eighteenth  birthday,  and  that  the 
average  age  of  conversion,  according 
to  such  painstaking  investigators  as 
President  G.  Stanley  Hall,  Professor 
Edwin  D.  Starbuck,  Professor  George 
A.  Coe,  and  Professor  William  James, 
is  about  the  sixteenth  year.  Surely, 
then,  the  Sunday  school  age  is  the 
most  desirable  for  high  Christian  enter- 
prise. Yet  an  astonishingly  large  per- 
centage of  our  young  people  never 
profess  conversion  and  are  lost  to  the 
church.     There    is    startling    evidence 


128     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

that  we  are  not  measuring  up  to  our 
opportunity.  Some  time  ago  the  Wes- 
leyan  Church  of  England  appointed  a 
commission  to  investigate  this  matter. 
The  commission  has  reported  that  only 
ten  per  cent  of  their  Sunday  school 
membership  are  held  in  active  member- 
ship in  the  church,  and  that  an  addi- 
tional ten  per  cent  remain  in  a  some- 
what informal  relationship.  Eighty  per 
cent  of  the  Sunday  school  member- 
ship is  lost  to  the  church  entirely. 
Dr.  Blake,  writing  of  this  matter  in 
a  personal  letter,  says  that  no  such 
complete  survey  has  as  yet  been  made 
in  our  own  denomination,  but  that 
from  individual  cases  which  have  been 
brought  to  his  attention,  and  from 
surveys  that  have  been  made  in  local 
fields,  he  is  confident  that  the  situa- 
tion until  very  recently  has  not  been 
any  better  in  our  own  denomination 
than  in  the  Wesleyan  Church.  That 
is  to  say,  after  all  our  work  in  the 
Sunday    school,    we    only   succeed    in 


THE   FIELD  129 

saving  for  Christ  and  his  church  from 
ten  per  cent  to  twenty  per  cent  of 
the  young  people  committed  to  our 
charge. 

Is  not  that  fact  like  the  prod  of  a 
thorn?  The  achievements  of  the  past 
and  the  opportunity  of  the  present 
impel  us  to  more  effective,  practical 
endeavor.  There  are  2,300,000  schol- 
ars in  our  schools  who  are  not  yet 
members  of  the  church.  Of  these, 
1,500,000  are  above  eight  years  of  age. 
Every  one  of  our  383,825  officers  and 
teachers  should  be  an  evangelist.  Our 
most  recent  record  shows  that,  work- 
ing for  a  whole  year  in  this  great  field, 
there  has  been  just  one  conversion  for 
every  two  teachers.  Is  not  Dr.  Blake 
right  when  he  says  that  it  is  a  sorrow- 
ful showing?  Yet  a  hopeful  element 
is  apparent  in  the  steadily  increasing 
emphasis  being  put  upon  personal  evan- 
gelism by  the  teachers,  the  wider  ob- 
servance of  Decision  Day,  and  the 
constantly  increasing  number  of  schools 


130     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

reporting  evangelistic  results.  If  the 
gain  of  increase  reported  for  1913 
continues,  within  four  years  our  Sun- 
day schools  will  be  reporting  the  con- 
version of  a  quarter  of  million  scholars 
annually. 

Bent  upon  realizing  the  greatest  har- 
vest possible,  we  should  proceed  to 
this  work  with  confidence  and  with 
high  enthusiasm,  for  when  we  lead 
the  child  into  the  kingdom  we  are 
acting  in  accord  with  the  nature  and 
constitution  of  the  child,  and  also  in 
harmony  with  the  will  of  God.  The 
child  has  spiritual  capacity.  Also,  if 
we  understand  Jesus's  teachings,  the 
child  has  spiritual  hunger,  and  we  are 
barbarous  if  we  do  not  feed  it.  Pro- 
fessor MacMuUen  reminds  us  that 
there  are  still  people  who  say  that 
religious  beliefs  and  religious  habits 
are  matters  of  mature  decision,  and 
the  child  must  not  be  biased  in  such 
things  but  be  left  absolutely  free  from 
dictation  or  training,  lest  in  later  life 


THE   FIELD  131 

it  lose  its  religious  rights  because  of 
undue  influence  earlier.  ^  Which  pro- 
ceeds on  the  assumption  either  that 
the  religious  instinct  comes  into  being 
at  maturity,  or  that,  if  part  of  a 
child's  dowry,  it,  of  all  its  instincts, 
must  be  left  to  take  care  of  itself. 
Against  the  first  idea  all  the  facts 
of  human  development'' — including  the 
facts  and  figures  relating  to  conver- 
sion presented  above — ^ ^fairly  shout  a 
denial.  It  is  not  in  the  man  the  re- 
ligious impulse  springs  into  life.  On 
the  contrary. 

The  man  perceives  it  die  away 

And  fade  into  the  Hght  of  common  day, 

which  is  not  merely  poetry,  but  biog- 
raphy. And  the  second  idea  says 
that  what  is  animal  and  what  is  hu- 
man in  a  rudimentary  v/ay  may  be 
fed,  but  what  is  divine  and  supremely 
human  must  either  forage  for  itself 
or  starve.  .  .  .  The  simple  truth  is 
that  the  child  is  a  child  physically. 


132     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

mentally,  and  spiritually,  and  God 
means  that  those  who  guard  it  shall 
see  to  the  development  of  all  its 
muscles  and  the  feeding  of  all  its 
hunger,  the  spiritual  no  less  than  the 
physicaF'  (The  Rev.  Dr.  Wallace  Mac- 
Mullen,  in  ^The  Child  and  The  King- 
dom,'' pp.  10,  11).  Clearly,  then,  if 
we  are  to  be  workers  together  with 
God,  we  must  take  advantage  of  the 
normal  conditions  of  age  and  disposi- 
tion for  leading  the  young  people  to 
Christ,  which  is  made  possible  by  the 
Sunday  school.  But  every  Sunday 
school  worker  of  experience  knows  that 
there  are  lines  of  influence,  for  good 
or  evil,  leading  from  the  Sunday  school 
to  the  home.  The  Sunday  school 
comes  out  of  the  homes  of  the  com- 
munity, and  it  leads  us  back  to  the 
homes. 

III.  The  Home  as  a  Field 

A  story  is  told  of  D.   L.   Moody, 
who  at  one  time  thought  that  it  was 


THE  FIELD  133 

all  right  if  he  got  hold  of  the  chil- 
dren, but  he  soon  found  that  it  wasn't 
all  right.  The  home  life  undid  his 
work  in  the  Sabbath  school.  This  fact 
doubtless  accounts  in  part  for  the  fact 
that  not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of 
our  Sunday  school  scholars  are  won 
and  held  for  Christ  and  his  churchy 
Mr.  Moody  found  that  he  had  to  get 
hold  of  the  older  people.  ^T  used  to 
illustrate  this/^  he  says,  ^^by  a  parable 
that  I  had  heard  of  the  frogs.  The 
fishes  gathered  a  council  together  to 
see  if  the  frogs  could  be  persuaded 
to  walk  forward  instead  of  backward, 
and  resolved  to  teach  the  young  frogs 
how  to  walk  in  the  proper  v/ay,  that 
they  might  in  turn  go  home  and  teach 
the  older  frogs.  The  walking  school 
for  frogs  was  instituted  and  was  quite 
successful.  The  young  frogs  grad- 
uated in  walking  forward,  and  were 
sent  home  to  teach  their  fathers  and 
mothers  the  correct  mode.  To  the  sur- 
prise and  disappointment  of  the  fishes,, 


134)      PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

they  found  out  soon  afterward  that  it 
worked  the  other  way.  The  old  frogs 
had  corrected  the  young  frogs  again, 
and  once  more  the  whole  tribe,  old 
and  young,  were  walking  backward." 
And  so  Mr.  Moody  concluded  that 
Sabbath  school  work  was  not  enough, 
that  it  had  to  be  supplemented  by  an 
earnest  and  conscientious  effort  to 
reach  the  home  life  of  the  fathers 
and  mothers.  The  fact  of  the  matter 
is  that  many  of  the  parents  of  the 
children  whom  we  meet  in  the  Sunday 
school  are,  in  so  far  as  religion  is 
concerned,  walking  backward.  It  is 
not  enough  to  instruct  the  children  to 
go  forward.  If  our  work  is  to  be  in 
any  large  measure  abiding,  parents 
must  be  reached  as  well. 

The  homes  of  a  community  do 
present  a  field  for  active  Christian 
endeavor.  Many  a  home  is  white  for 
the  harvest.  If  the  Christians  of  the 
community  are  all  enrolled  as  members 
of    our    churches,    and    if    only    true 


THE   FIELD  135 

Christians  are  saved  souls,  then  there 
is  a  multitude  in  every  center  of 
population  which  should  be  sought  for 
Jesus  Christ.  A  large  proportion  of 
this  multitude  will  not  come  to  church. 
The  church  should  go  to  the  home; 
but  before  we  speak  of  methods,  let 
us  inform  ourselves  specifically  as  to 
the  opportunity.  Make  a  religious 
census  of  your  own  community  and 
compare  it  with  the  population.  In 
the  suburb  of  New  York  city  (Hemp- 
stead, Long  Island,  New  York),  where 
this  study  is  being  made,  accord- 
ing to  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  Almanac 
for  1914,  the  church  membership  of 
the  village  is  2,003.  The  population 
is  approximately  6,000  persons.  Our 
county,  Nassau,  in  1910  had  a  pop- 
ulation of  83,930,  and  a  total  church 
membership  of  28,834.  Our  neighbor, 
Kings  County,  which  is  the  Borough 
of  Brooklyn,  in  1910,  had  a  popula- 
tion of  1,634,351;  in  that  year  the 
churches   of  the  borough  reported   a 


136     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

membership  of  590,890  persons.  It 
should  be  said  that  in  the  three  cases 
the  figures  include  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  which  reports  parishioners  as 
distinguished  from  members.  Calcula- 
tion will  show  that  in  each  one  of 
these  three  units  of  population  the 
proportion  of  church  membership  to 
population  is  approximately  as  one  to 
three.  While  this  proportion  probably 
will  not  be  maintained  throughout  con- 
tinental United  States,  the  total  of 
the  church  membership  being  37,280,- 
000,  as  compiled  for  1913  by  the 
authority  of  the  Federal  Council  of 
Churches,  by  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll,  still 
it  is  evident  that  in  many  of  our 
communities  upward  of  two  thirds  of 
the  population  are  not  professing  Chris- 
tians. These  persons  are  to  be  found 
in  the  homes  of  America;  they  afford 
a  universal  field  for  practical  evan- 
gelism. Included  in  this  field  are  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  people:  There 
are   nominal   Christians   and   persons 


THE   FIELD  137 

who  are  Christian  in  their  sympathies, 
many  of  whom  may  be  easily  reached. 
Among  them  are  the  multitudes  of 
the  children,  so  many  of  whom  are 
to  be  found  in  our  Sunday  schools.  A 
large  part  of  our  growing  foreign 
population  is  not  included  in  the 
church  census.  Some  of  them,  like 
the  Italians,  while  nominally  Roman 
Catholic,  are  actually  quite  indifferent 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  There 
are  possibly  a  million  Jews  in  Greater 
New  York;  only  35,321  of  them  were 
enrolled  as  members  of  synagogues  in 
1913  (compiled  from  Eagle  Almanac, 
1914).  In  addition  to  these  there  is 
the  evil  element — all  that  is  included 
in  the  phrase  ^^the  underworld^ ^ — and 
every  propagator  of  wrong,  which  is 
so  largely  represented  by  the  saloons, 
the  gambling  places,  and  other  bad 
resorts.  These  are  actively  and  ag- 
gressively antagonistic  to  all  good  in- 
fluences of  a  religious  and  Christian 
character.    Such  conditions  complicate 


138     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

the  difficulties,  but  they  intensify  the 
need,  and  challenge  the  faith  and  con- 
secration of  the  Christian  community. 
There  are  two  classes  of  homes 
which  we  find.  One  class  has  mem- 
bers of  the  family  who  are  Chris- 
tians. A  single  child  from  the  Sunday 
school  may  alone  be  holding  aloft 
the  torch  of  Christ.  In  some  in- 
stances it  is  true  that  a  little  child 
does  lead  them.  But  in  the  majority 
of  cases  we  must  rely  upon  Christian 
parents  to  rear  their  little  ones  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord.  We  must  not  leave  the  child 
free  to  make  religious  decisions  in 
mature  life.  Evil  influences  are  not 
deferred.  They  are  always  impinging 
and  intruding.  Otherwise,  why  were 
we  taught  to  pray,  ''Lead  us  not 
into  temptation'7  Parents,  when  they 
fail  to  lead  the  child  as  they  ought 
in  this  matter  are  hostile  to  the  high- 
est good  of  their  own  offspring.  They, 
who  should  be  the  best  friends,   are 


THE   FIELD  139 

actually  the  foes  of  the  child.  The 
second  class  of  homes  has  no  loyal 
Christian  in  the  household.  Their  chil- 
dren may  be  attendants  upon  the  Sun- 
day school,  or  they  meet  our  children 
in  the  public  school  or  upon  the 
playground.  This  fact  enables  us  to 
extend  our  constituency  list.  Or  they 
are  neighbors  of  some  of  our  church 
members.  Soon  or  late  our  people 
should  find  a  point  of  religious  con- 
tact. It  may  be  very  soon,  as  when 
they  move  into  the  community  as 
strangers  and  suffer  the  pangs  of  home- 
sickness. Then  a  word  of  welcome  and 
of  kindness  is  apt  to  be  remembered. 
That  word  may  be  one  link  in  the 
chain  by  which  we  shall  bind  our 
neighbors  to  Jesus  Christ.  Need  gives 
opportunity  and  brings  welcome.  Ill- 
ness, adversity,  and  death,  with  its 
sorrows,  open  doors  as  of  steel  shut 
against  us  apparently  forever.  May 
we  ever  be  ready  to  enter  in!  The 
home  and  the  Church  must  join  forces 


140     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

in  intelligent  and  increasing  service 
looking  to  the  salvation  of  the  chil- 
dren and  of  all  others  within  the 
field  of  our  influence. 

At  this  time,  in  New  York  city, 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  plan- 
ning to  gather  its  young  people  who 
attend  the  public  schools  into  weekday 
classes  for  religious  instruction.  They 
act  wisely.  To  follow  their  example 
would  make  evident  our  wisdom.  To 
be  sure,  the  work  of  our  Sunday  schools 
exceeds  theirs  by  far.  But  it  is  in- 
adequate. Many  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic children  are  in  parochial  schools  and 
receive  regular  daily  religious  instruc- 
tion. Every  child,  without  exception, 
should  have  definite  and  systematic 
religious  training  under  the  tutelage 
of  a  sympathetic  teacher,  for  religion 
really  cannot  be  taught;  it  must  be 
caught.  Otherwise,  there  is  loss  to 
the  child,  the  family,  the  community, 
and  the  state — loss  which  can  never 
be  repaired. 


THE   FIELD  141 

Christians,  let  us  lift  our  eyes  unto 
the  fields!  If  they  are  not  yet  white, 
ready  for  the  harvest,  let  us  sow  the 
seed,  with  tears  if  need  be,  and  cul- 
tivate them  with  the  fidelity  of  amaz- 
ing sacrifice  if  so  required,  ever  ready 
with  eager  sickles  to  gather  the  har- 
vest of  redeemed  souls,  that,  in  His 
own  day,  we  may  return  to  Him, 
bringing  our  sheaves  with  us. 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  Campaign 

In  Saint  PauFs  second  letter  to 
Timothy,  whom  he  expected  to  be  his 
successor  in  apostolic  labors,  he  ad- 
monished him  to  preach  the  word,  to 
be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season, 
and  to  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist 
(2  Tim.  4.  2,  5).  That  this  counsel 
was  given  to  an  individual  does  not 
impair  its  applicability  to  any  and 
all  who  are  Christians.  It  has  been 
shown  that  the  world  can  never  be 
evangelized  by  the  most  devoted  serv- 
ice of  the  ministers  and  the  mission- 
aries working  alone.  If  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  to  come  to  the  race  in  any 
full  measure,  there  must  be  a  general 
movement  among  Christians.  In  writ- 
ing to  Timothy,  Saint  Paul  gives  us 
a  principle  of  procedure  which  is  sound 
and  which  will  prove  efficient  in  prac- 

142 


THE  CAMPAIGN  143 

tice.     Christian  conquest  requires  an 
unceasing  evangelism. 

Our  far-reaching  field  for  Christian 
endeavor  extends  to  the  last  person 
on  the  planet.  That  we  have  a  great 
force  for  the  prosecution  of  the  cam- 
paign has  been  indicated.  This  force, 
like  a  conquering  army,  is  to  enter 
the  field  for  its  campaign  of  conquest. 

I.  The  Campaign  and  Its  Purpose 

A  campaign  consists  of  the  opera- 
tions of  any  army,  or  force  of  any  kind, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  some  par- 
ticular object.  The  Christian  Church 
is  a  force  engaged  in  operations  which 
anticipate  the  accomplishment  of  a 
specific  task,  namely,  the  deliverance 
of  men  from  sin,  its  power  and  its 
consequences.  That  is,  we  are  set  to  do 
the  will  of  God  that  evil  may  be  over- 
come in  human  lives.  The  Adversary 
is  ever  busy.  Therefore,  the  evangelist 
must  be  ever  alert  and  active.  There 
is  no  discharge  in  this  warfare. 


144     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

II.  Methods 

'Treach  the  word/^  '^Do  the  work 
of  an  evangelist''  (2  Tim.  4.  2,  5). 
The  doctrine  of  Christ  crucified  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world  is  to 
be  preached,  proclaimed.  The  truth 
must  be  enforced  that  there  is  no 
salvation  but  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
The  matter  is  urgent.  Apparent  op- 
portunities for  service  are  to  be  seized. 
Other  opportunities  are  to  be  found. 
Stated  times  and  usual  places  are  not 
to  be  neglected.  Yet  it  will  be  under- 
stood that  any  time  and  every  place 
are  proper  for  God's  work.  In  all 
the  ministry  of  the  church  the  proc- 
lamation of  the  evangel,  which  is 
evangelism,  should  have  a  foremost 
place.  The  soul-winning  work  of  the 
church  should  be  constant,  the  cam- 
paign should  be  unceasing.  And  we 
make  a  serious  mistake  when  we  rely 
upon  the  public  appeal,  the  profes- 
sional proclamation   of  the  word,   as 


THE  CAMPAIGN  145 

our  chief  evangelistic  agency.  Such 
appeal  should  be  made,  must  be  made. 
We  may  well  put  more  emphasis  upon 
it  than  we  do.  Yet  we  should  not 
depend  merely  upon  the  minister  to 
be  the  evangelist  and  the  church  serv- 
ice the  opportunity.  Every  organ- 
ization should  be  in  alliance  with  the 
church  service.  All  the  officers  and 
teachers  in  the  organizations  should  be 
the  loyal  allies  of  the  pastor  and  of 
each  other,  and  all  the  members  of 
these  organizations  should  be  urged  to 
active  endeavor,  doing  the  work  of 
evangehsts,  in  the  duly  appointed  serv- 
ices, as  also  in  many  if  not  all  of 
our  church  and  social  activities.  All 
our  church  enterprises,  even  though  re- 
mote from  evangelism  in  our  thought, 
should  tend  to  maintain  the  evan- 
gelistic note.  If  the  social,  the  lec- 
ture, the  entertainment — the  service 
of  any  kind — is  such  as  to  discredit 
the  evangel,  if  its  spirit  antagonizes 
the    gospel,   it    has    no  place  in  the 


146     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

work  of  the  church,  because  it  inter- 
feres with  the  accomphshment  of  its 
purpose. 

Further,  the  campaign  should  give 
a  larger  place  to  the  Christian  nurture 
of  the  children.  Of  course  the  children 
should  be  present  at  the  regular  serv- 
ices of  the  church.  Parents  too 
should  insist  upon  the  attendance  of 
their  children  at  the  sessions  of  the 
Sunday  school  and  at  all  the  meet- 
ings provided  for  the  religious  in- 
struction of  the  young  people.  This 
is  vital  evangelism.  More:  parents 
should  make  time  for  religious  in- 
struction in  the  home  also.  The  family 
altar  should  not  become  ancient  his- 
tory. It  should  be  a  potent  influence 
in  every  Christian  home.  "li  our 
religion  is  true,^^  remarks  a  wise  man, 
^Ve  are  in  duty  bound  to  preach  it.'' 
He  who  thus  tells  the  good  tidings  is  a 
practical  evangelist.  Sometime  since, 
in  Chicago,  the  papal  delegate,  who 
is    the    official    representative    of    the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  147 

Pope  in  this  country,  said  to  a  large 
Roman  Catholic  gathering:  ^ ^Whenever 
there  is  a  decline  in  faith  and  morals 
it  can  be  restored  through  the  training 
of  the  children.  From  one  child  rightly 
reared  a  whole  generation  of  Christians 
can  come.  What  they  receive  to-day 
they  will  give  fifteen  years  hence. 
The  great  task  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
is  the  training  of  the  children.'^  We 
may  add  that  even  in  an  age  of  faith^ 
if  the  religious  training  of  the  children 
be  neglected,  at  once  will  begin  a 
decHne  in  faith  and  morals.  Pastors 
and  people  must  find  a  way  in  fuller 
measure  of  providing  for  the  adequate 
and  sympathetic  religious  training  and 
inspiration  of  our  children  and  young 
people.  Shall  we  not  make  this  a 
definite  part  of  our  campaign?  We 
may  seriously  ask  too  if  this  work 
does  not  extend  very  definitely  to  the 
recreational  life  of  our  people,  young 
and  old.  The  problem  of  amusements 
is  not  to  be  dodged  forever.     While 


148     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

the  Christian  worker  dodges  and  fails 
to  provide  vent  for  innocent  tenden- 
cies, his  friends  and  his  children  give 
themselves  to  indulgence,  it  may  be, 
in  degrading  amusements.  Surely,  it 
must  be  that  in  the  program  of  Him 
who  entered  into  the  joys  and  gayeties 
of  the  marriage  feast  there  are  satis- 
fying and  pure  recreations. 

At  this  point  we  make  a  distinction 
between  evangelism  and  revivalism. 
Evangelism  is  the  constant  note  in 
the  life  and  work  of  the  normal  Chris- 
tian; it  is  the  unceasing  endeavor  of 
the  true  Christian  Church.  The  revival 
meeting  is  a  method  of  evangelism,  a 
desirable  and  necessary  method.  We 
may  think  of  evangelism  as  the  seed- 
sowing  and  cultivation  period,  and  of 
revivalism  as  the  harvest  time.  The 
revival  meeting  means  unusual  effort; 
pressure  is  brought  to  bear;  all  the 
workers  are  engaged  and  every  en- 
deavor is  intensified,  that  nothing  may 
be   lost.     Various   plans   are   used   in 


THE  CAMPAIGN  149 

revivalism.  Two  classes  of  plans  are 
apparent.  A  church  may  conduct  a 
revival  campaign  independently  of  any 
other,  or  there  may  be  a  union  of 
two  or  more  churches. 

When  it  is  proposed  to  act  in- 
dependently, as  also  in  a  union  ef- 
fort, the  question  arises.  What  is  the 
best  season  for  the  revival  meeting? 
Different  experts  give  different  an- 
swers. That  far-famed  Presbyterian 
minister,  Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  in 
his  very  fruitful  evangelistic  ministry, 
ever  watched  with  open  eye  and  ear 
for  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit's 
presence.  The  first  signs  of  such 
special  manifestation  found  him  ready 
for  action.  Nothing  was  permitted  to 
interfere.  At  once  a  series  of  meet- 
ings would  be  instituted.  Church  offi- 
cials and  workers  would  be  marshaled 
for  the  campaign,  and  a  large  in- 
gathering of  souls  was  the  result. 
'T  have  no  doubt,''  writes  Dr.  Cuyler 
in  his   Recollections  of  a   Long  Life 


150      PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

(page  85),  ^'that  very  often  a  spark 
of  divine  influence  is  allowed  to  die 
for  want  of  being  fanned  by  prayer 
and  prompt  labors,  whereas,  it  is  some- 
times dashed  out,  as  by  a  bucket  of 
cold  water  thrown  on  by  inconsistent 
or  quarrelsome  church  members.  It  is 
to  Christians  that  Saint  Paul  sent 
the  message,  ^Quench  not  the  Spirit.' '' 
The  Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  testifies 
to  the  value  of  Dr.  Cuyler's  plan.  Dis- 
tinguished from  Dr.  Cuyler's  method 
of  watchful  waiting  is  that  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  L.  Goodell,  of  the 
New  York  Conference  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  who  is  the  ex- 
ponent of  a  regular  revival  period. 
Said  Dr.  Goodell  in  his  famous  address 
at  Northfield,  delivered  August  11, 
1906:  ^^I  say  in  July,  'Brethren,  we 
are  going  to  take  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary for  revival  services;  whether  the 
wind  blows  high  or  blows  low,  we  are 
going  to  take  that  month.'     I  have  a 


THE  CAMPAIGN  151 

notion  that  God  does  not  need  to  be 
importuned  to  be  favorable  in  our 
case.  .  .  .  God  is  waiting  to  be  gracious. 
The  whole  air  is  full  of  Pentecosts 
that  have  never  come  down  because 
there  was  no  place  for  the  cloven 
tongues.  ...  I  believe  in  having  a 
special  revival  season'^  (The  Price  of 
Winning  Souls,  p.  24f.).  Truly,  this 
plan  has  richly  rewarded  Dr.  Goodell, 
for  he  is  able  to  testify,  ^^I  say  to  His 
glory  that  in  these  twenty-five  years  of 
my  ministry  I  have  never  received 
less  than  one  hundred  souls  a  year, 
and  in  some  years  many  times  that 
number;  and  in  all  these  twenty-five 
years  I  have  not  passed  a  single 
monthly  communion  service  without 
receiving  some  into  the  church'^ 
(Ibid.,  p.  9).  In  practice  both  methods 
may  be  employed.  An  annual  revival 
service  is  well  worth  while.  If  that 
annual  effort  is  made  in  January,  and 
unusual  interest  should  develop  in  June 
or  October,  or  at  any  other  time,  with 


152     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Dr.    Cuyler,    let    the    pastor    of    the 
church  be  ready  for  action. 

Another  question  intrudes:  Shall  we 
employ  a  professional  evangelist,  or 
shall  we  be  our  own  evangelists?  Some 
there  are  who  have  a  strong  antipathy 
to  professional  evangelists;  yet  they 
have  been  at  work  in  the  church  from 
New  Testament  days.  Saint  Paul  tells 
us  that  when  Christ  ascended  up  on 
high  ''He  gave  some,  apostles;  and 
some,  prophets;  and  some,  evangelists; 
and  some,  pastors  and  teachers;  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying 
of  the  body  of  Christ''  (Eph.  4.  11,  12). 
In  our  own  times  the  work  of  Moody 
and  Sankey,  Torrey,  Chapman  and 
Alexander,  Gypsy  Smith,  William  A. 
Sunday,  and  many  others  has  brought 
blessing  to  multitudes.  Doubtless  their 
efforts  have  strengthened  the  Christian 
Church.  Some  ministers  and  others 
believe  that  every  pastor  should  be 
his  own  evangelist,  but  there  are  few 


THE   CAMPAIGN  153 

ministers  or  churches  which  follow  any 
one  theory  in  this  matter.  The  best 
of  pastor  evangelists  will  employ  pro- 
fessional helpers  at  times,  and,  it  may 
be,  with  most  satisfactory  results.  This 
is  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Cuyler:  '^It 
has  not  been  my  practice  to  invite 
the  labors  of  an  evangelist;  but  in 
January,  1872,  Mr.  Dwight  L.  Moody, 
with  whom  I  had  as  yet  but  a  slight 
acquaintance,  .  .  .  said  to  the  super- 
intendent of  our  mission,  ^What  a  nice 
place  this  is  to  hold  meetings  in!^  ^' 
The  meetings  were  held  and  the  re- 
vival came.  ^^It  spread  to  the  parent 
church,  and  over  one  hundred  con- 
verts made  their  public  confession  of 
Christ  before  our  communion  table'' 
(Recollections  of  a  Long  Life,  p.  90). 

Should  a  professional  evangelist  be 
invited,  it  must  be  understood  that 
he  will  have  his  peculiarities,  some  of 
which  may  not  please  some  good  peo- 
ple. It  is  assumed  that  the  character 
of  the  evangelist  is  unquestioned,  other- 


154      PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

wise  he  would  not  have  been  employed. 
It  may  be  that  his  power  will  be  in- 
creased over  the  many  by  his  peculiar- 
ities. At  any  rate,  the  church  and 
the  workers  must  dismiss  all  suspicion 
and  silence  criticism  if  success  is  ex- 
pected. If  this  cannot  be  done,  it 
were  better  to  dismiss  the  evangelist 
at  once.  We  cannot  cramp  a  man^s 
personality  and  expect  him  to  do  his 
best. 

There  are  very  able  ministers  who 
have  not  had  success  in  their  own 
revival  services.  I  recall  one  such 
who  was  my  pastor.  He  was  a  mighty 
preacher.  He  built  up  the  churches 
of  which  he  had  charge.  No  man 
has  ever  had  a  greater  constructive 
religious  influence  upon  my  own  life. 
Many  others  bear  a  like  testimony. 
Yet  he  felt  inabihty  in  directing  a 
revival  meeting,  and  confessed  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  must  be  recog- 
nized that  there  are  persons  who  have 
special  endowments,  the  value  of  which 


THE   CAMPAIGN  155 

has  been  increased  by  experience,  which 
make  them  pecuHarly  ejffective  as  evan- 
gehsts.  They  have  a  way  of  getting 
to  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  They 
are  able  to  arouse  the  indifferent,  to 
bring  the  unconverted  to  the  point 
of  decision.  Their  worth  has  been 
proved  by  their  ministry.  It  is  true, 
doubtless,  that  they  can  accomplish 
wonders,  under  God,  which  otherwise 
might  never  be  realized.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  my  personal  conviction,  based 
upon  experience,  that  if  the  officials 
and  Christian  leaders  of  the  church 
will  give  themselves  loyally  to  the 
task  of  practical  evangelism,  uniting 
in  the  preparatory  work  heartily,  en- 
gaging enthusiastically  in  the  revival 
meeting  by  giving  personal  invitation 
to  others  and  attending  the  services 
themselves,  never  permitting  the  old 
flag  to  touch  the  ground,  the  pastor 
will  rarely  need  a  professional  evan- 
gehst  to  assist  him,  and  the  work  will 
be  satisfactory  and  efficient  to  an  un- 


156     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

usual  degree.  Even  if  the  evangelist 
be  invited,  if  there  be  conversions, 
the  people  must  needs  help.  If  there 
be  a  lack  of  cooperation,  disappoint- 
ment as  to  results  is  a  foregone  con- 
clusion. 

At  times  the  churches  of  a  com- 
munity will  engage  in  the  union  plan 
of  revival  service.  In  villages  and 
small  towns  all  the  evangelical  churches 
may  unite  to  their  advantage.  The 
same  is  true  of  large  cities,  as  demon- 
strated by  the  work  of  Chapman  and 
Alexander,  WilHam  A.  Sunday,  and 
others.  Chapman  and  Alexander  con- 
duct what  is  known  as  a  simultaneous 
campaign.  The  city  is  divided  into 
many  groups  of  churches.  Each  group 
will  select  a  central  church  where  the 
meetings  of  the  group  will  be  con- 
ducted by  the  appointed  evangelist  and 
his  gospel  singer.  There  will  be  one 
great  central  meeting  place  where  Dr. 
Chapman  and  Mr.  Alexander  will  have 
charge.    Many  committees  will  arrange 


THE   CAMPAIGN  157 

the  details  of  the  campaign  and  for 
special  phases  of  the  work  esteemed 
essential  to  largest  success,  as  Prayer 
Committee,  Woman^s  Auxiliary,  For- 
eign Tongues,  Young  People,  Boys, 
Shop  Meetings,  Noonday  Meetings, 
Publicity  and  Press.  Then  there  are 
committees  on  Evangelists  and  Sing- 
ers, Church  Music,  Personal  Work  and 
Ushers,  Finance,  Entertainment,  etc. 
In  Mr.  Sunday's  work  the  Tabernacle 
in  which  he  preaches  is  made  the 
center  of  the  religious  endeavor  of  the 
community  during  his  mission,  and  for 
the  whole  period  all  the  services  in  all 
the  cooperating  churches  are  post- 
poned, with  the  exception  of  the  Sun- 
day school  sessions.  He  too  has  a 
corps  of  expert  workers,  and  special 
meetings  are  arranged  for  factory  em- 
ployes at  the  noon  hour,  for  business 
men,  for  business  women,  for  students, 
and  for  every  class  of  persons  in  the 
city.  Every  detail  of  the  campaign  is 
worked  out  to  a  nicety.    A  somewhat 


158      PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

different  method  of  procedure  is  that 
which  has  been  employed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  Commission  on  Ag- 
gressive Evangelism  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  known  as  Cooper- 
ative Evangelism.  In  general,  this 
plan  is  similar  to  that  used  by  Chapman 
and  Alexander,  excepting  that  its  work 
is  a  union  of  Methodist  Episcopal 
churches. 

Such  movements  as  these  have  a 
special  value.  The  churches  of  a 
community,  without  fear  of  trespass, 
can  make  a  united  appeal.  Every 
home  can  be  entered.  They  prove 
what  may  have  been  far  from  evident 
— that  there  is  a  unity  in  Christendom. 

We  are  not  divided, 

All  one  body  we, 
One  in  hope  and  doctrine, 

One  in  charity. 

This  refers  especially  to  an  undenom- 
inational, movement.  It  is  true  that 
such  a  movement  has  its  disadvantages 


THE  CAMPAIGN  159 

and  drawbacks.  There  is  the  danger 
that  too  much  rehance  will  be  placed 
upon  methods  which  in  themselves  are 
good,  but  which  are  only  a  means  to 
an  end.  Then  there  are  workers  who 
may  not  feel  a  sense  of  responsibility 
for  a  large  movement  as  they  would 
for  one  in  their  own  church.  There 
are  persons  too  who  find  it  difficult 
to  labor  under  the  unusual  conditions; 
they  are  accustomed  to  a  certain  pro- 
cedure. Deviation  therefrom  confuses 
them,  causing  them  to  lose  interest, 
it  may  be  to  become  adverse  critics. 
Such  a  movement,  therefore,  requires  a 
large  resource  of  sweet  charity,  a  de- 
termination on  the  part  of  Christians 
to  live  and  work  together  in  harmony, 
striving  for  one  thing — the  advantage 
of  God^s  kingdom,  and  not  merely  the 
advancement  of  one  particular  church 
society.  The  workers  must  possess 
self-control  and  self-renunciation,  but 
out  of  it,  if  the  Holy  Spirit  be  per- 
mitted to  lead  the  way,  amity  between 


160     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

Christians  and  friendship  between  God 
and  man  will  come.  Then,  a  properly 
conducted  campaign  of  this  kind  ap- 
peals to  many  who  would  not  heed 
the  ordinary  revival  summons. 

Such  a  movement,  however,  is  not 
always  practicable.  The  forces  can- 
not be  united.  There  is  evident  need 
of  special  effort.  Seed-sowing  and  cul- 
tivation have  been  done.  The  warmth 
and  activity  of  the  revival  service 
makes  the  harvest  natural  for  many 
who  might  otherwise  be  deaf  and 
mute.  So  the  individual  church  will 
find  it  prudent  and  necessary  to  pro- 
ceed independently — and  will  do  so. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  plan  as 
to  the  revival  meeting,  little  will  be 
accomplished  unless  the  principles  al- 
ready enunciated  are  faithfully  used. 
God's  Spirit  must  be  heeded.  Men 
must  seek  to  save  their  fellows.  The 
textbook,  the  Holy  Bible,  must  be 
mastered.  Prayer  must  be  employed. 
Yes,   and  work  must  be  done.     The 


THE  CAMPAIGN  161 

force  must  contest  the  field  if  there 
is  to  be  a  conquest.  The  preachers  and 
evangeHsts  who  have  been  most  suc- 
cessful have  been  and  are  prodigious 
workers.  There  must  be  an  unceasing 
effort  if  there  is  to  be  the  greatest 
result. 

Let  no  mistake  be  made :  preparation 
and  cooperation,  whether  for  an  in- 
dependent or  a  union  movement,  are 
essential  to  success.  Surely,  the  pas- 
tor and  members  of  a  Christian  church 
will  not  expect  a  successful  revival 
unless  there  be  vigilant  and  intelligent 
preparation  therefor.  The  farmer  does 
not  expect  to  reap  if  there  has  been 
no  seed-sowing  and  no  cultivation  of 
the  soil.  Nor  does  he  anticipate  a 
manifold  return  if  the  growing  crops 
are  interfered  with  and  uprooted.  He 
protects  them  as  best  he  may  from 
the  ravages  of  beasts  and  birds  and 
vermin.  Likewise  the  Christian  worker 
will  be  a  seed-sower  and  cultivator 
and  a  protector  of  his  field.    In  pulpit 


162     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

ministrations  and  in  pastoral  service 
in  the  homes  of  his  people,  and  else- 
where, the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ 
will  be  an  unceasing  herald  of  the 
evangel.  Thus  he  plants  seed  and  cul- 
tivates his  field.  Christian  workers  in 
every  department  of  the  church  life, 
even  when  immersed  in  the  demands 
of  business  and  social  engagements  will, 
by  consistency  of  conduct  and  prudent 
counsels,  study  to  show  themselves 
approved  unto  God,  workmen  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth.  Any 
church  undertaking  which  cannot  be 
employed,  directly  or  indirectly,  as  a 
means  of  saving  men  should  be  sus- 
pected as  improper.  I  believe  that 
there  is  no  legitimate  social  function 
which  cannot  be  used  as  an  evan- 
gelistic agency  in  that  it  affords  op- 
portunity for  making  and  cementing 
friendships,  out  of  which  influences  to 
the  religious  advantage  of  the  unsaved 
may  be  put  in  motion.     So  that,  in 


THE  CAMPAIGN  163 

the  revival  campaign,  the  various  or- 
ganizations of  the  church  should  be 
considered  and  engaged.  Such  or- 
ganizations as  the  official  board,  the 
Brotherhood,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society, 
the  Epworth  League  or  Christian  En- 
deavor Society,  the  Woman's  For- 
eign Missionary  Society,  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society  should  pro- 
vide helpers  in  the  meetings  and  call- 
ers upon  the  people.  The  mere  reg- 
ular attendance  of  these  persons  is 
helpful.  Such  attendance  should  be  a 
matter  of  honor  and  loyalty  to  the 
cause.  It  will,  in  many  instances,  be 
supplemented  by  personal  effort  of  in- 
estimable value  as  opportunity  presents 
itself.  Gospel  singing,  Christian  con- 
versation and  prayer  at  the  altar  or 
in  the  inquiry  room — in  some  such 
ways  the  consecrated  worker  will  find 
a  chance  to  tell  the  story.  The  Sunday 
school  and  the  Junior  Epworth  League 
should  never  be  overlooked.  Here,  as 
we  have  observed  before,   is  a  most 


164     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

fruitful  field  white  for  the  harvest. 
Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers 
and  Junior  workers  should  be  actively 
and  sympathetically  evangelistic,  and 
by  the  instruction  of  the  lips  and  the 
inspiration  of  the  life  should  never 
cease  to  influence  young  people  for 
Jesus  Christ.  Naturally,  there  will  be 
in  the  program  of  every  Sunday  school 
a  carefully  worked  out  plan  for  De- 
cision Day  services,  with  which  pastor 
and  superintendent,  with  officers  and 
teachers,  will  be  in  perfect  accord. 
The  effort  is  certain  to  be  successful 
when  wise  preparation  has  been  made, 
followed  by  calm,  yet  earnest  and 
hearty  appeal.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  success  in  this 
endeavor  must  be  followed  by  regular, 
intelligent  Christian  culture,  and  that 
otherwise  much  of  the  work  done  will 
be  nugatory.  This,  indeed,  is  true  in 
every  case.  Christian  converts  must 
be  nurtured  if  they  are  to  become 
mature    and    fruitful.       The    fruitless 


THE  CAMPAIGN  165 

Christian,  according  to  the  Book,  is 
a  Christian  only  in  name.  This  is 
confirmed  by  Jesus's  parable  of  the 
vine  (John  15),  in  which  he  says, 
'^Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that 
ye  bear  much  fruit;  so  shall  ye  be 
my  disciples'^  (John  15.  8).  Of  course 
the  convert  should  be  led  to  commit 
himself  publicly  as  soon  as  possible. 
He  should  repeat  his  commitment  fre- 
quently. He  should  be  counseled  to 
join  some  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  to  give  himself  actively 
to  some  practical  form  of  Christian 
endeavor  which  will  be  directed  toward 
reaching  the  unsaved  and  in  building 
up  the  saved.  Bible  study  of  a  de- 
votional character  is  essential,  and  the 
practice  of  prayer  is  necessary.  It  is 
almost  a  certainty  that  such  habits 
will  produce  success  in  the  Christian 
life.  Certain  it  is  that  without  them 
the  Christian  will  be  doomed  to  failure. 
Whether  we  are  planning  for  De- 
cision Day  in  the  Sunday  school  or 


166     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

any  kind  of  a  revival  service  in  con- 
nection with  the  church,  the  matter 
of  preparation  is  essential.  It  is  true 
that  great  revivals  have  come  occa- 
sionally without  conscious  and  delib- 
erate preparation.  Dr.  J.  0.  Peck, 
in  his  classic  on  evangelism.  The  Re- 
vival and  the  Pastor,  tells  of  such  a 
spontaneous  revival  which  came  under 
the  ministry  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher. 
^'It  came  suddenly  and  powerfully.  It 
swept  the  town  with  mighty  power. 
After  it  was  over  Dr.  Beecher  was 
visiting  a  bedridden  member  of  his 
church  in  a  remote  part  of  the  town. 
This  member  told  him  that  day  after 
day  for  weeks  he  had  felt  a  great 
burden  of  prayer  for  the  unsaved,  and 
that  he  began  at  one  end  of  the  town 
and  prayed  for  each  household  until 
he  had  included  every  family.  Then, 
as  if  this  were  not  enough,  he  prayed 
for  each  family  again.  In  an  instant 
Dr.  Beecher  knew  from  whence  the 
revival   came.      It   was   born    in    the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  167 

heart  of  that  bedridden  mighty  wrestler 
with  God''  (p.  170).  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  the  spontaneous  revival 
was  really  one  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  by  the  faithful,  prayerful 
ministry  of  a  shut-in  and  suffering 
invalid,  as  well  as  by  the  fidelity  of 
Mr.  Beecher,  the  minister  of  the 
church. 

When  all  has  been  said  and  done, 
plans  and  methods  are  of  practical 
noneffect  apart  from  the  mind  which 
was  in  Christ  Jesus — the  mind  which 
has  as  its  supreme  purpose  the  doing 
of  God's  will.  The  spirit  of  sincerity, 
of  enthusiasm,  of  zealous  purpose, 
based  upon  personal  experience  and 
glowing  faith,  engendering  a  deep  con- 
secration to  Christian  service  as  soul- 
winners,  is  essential  if  the  greatly 
desired  results  are  to  be  achieved. 
This  spirit  will  seize  the  opportunity 
w^hich  is  apparent  and  will  make  the 
opportunity  which  does  not  appear  of 
itself. 


168     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

There  are  certain  musical  melodies 
which  have  gripped  the  human  heart 
— ^^Old  Black  Joe/^  ^'Home,  Sweet 
Home/'  ''Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul/' 
The  composer,  appreciating  the  beauty 
of  the  melody,  produces  a  piece  based 
on  that  melody  but  with  infinite  varia- 
tions. The  musician  knows  that  the 
theme  is  ever  apparent,  though  almost 
concealed  at  times.  It  may  be  very 
soft  in  the  treble,  yet  it  is  there. 
It  may  be  distinctly  and  powerfully 
sounded  in  the  bass,  so  that  no  one 
mistakes.  Then,  again,  all  the  parts 
unite  in  singing  the  song  as  the  whole 
world  knows  it.  This  will  serve  as  a 
figure,  illustrating  how  evangelism  can 
be  made  the  dominant  note  in  Chris- 
tian work,  while  all  other  interests 
receive  proper  attention.  Christianity 
is  a  great  symphony,  elaborate  in  its 
proportions  and  grand  in  its  purposes. 
It  does  concern  itself  with  every  proper 
human  interest.  As  we  study  its 
teachings,  as  we  listen  to  its  wonder- 


THE  CAMPAIGN  169 

ful  music,  in  minor  or  major,  low  or 
high,  we  catch  the  strains  of  an  old 
message,  an  angePs  message,  FEAR 
NOT:  FOR,  BEHOLD,  I  BRING 
YOU  GOOD  TIDINGS  OF  GREAT 
JOY,  WHICH  SHALL  BE  TO  ALL 
PEOPLE  (Luke  2.  10).  It  is  the 
evangel.  And  he  who  really  hears 
that  message  must  tell  the  tale. 


APPENDIX 

SOME  PLANS  FOR  PRACTICAL 
EVANGELISM 

I.  For  the  Local  Church 

1.  Leadership 

Whether  the  pastor  is  the  evan- 
gelist himself  or  has  invited  an  out- 
side evangelist  to  help  him  in  the 
revival  campaign,  the  pastor  must  be 
the  leader.  The  final  responsibility  is 
so  largely  his  that  he  should  be  ex- 
pected to  command  the  situation.  Of 
course  it  is  assumed  that  the  pastor 
is  a  Christian,  possessed  of  common 
sense  and  consecration. 

Ordinarily,  with  wisdom  the  revival 
campaign  may  be  planned  for  annually. 

2.  Support 

a.  The  official  board  of  the  church 
should  commit  itself  by  resolution  and 
by    the    personal    consecration    of    its 

170 


APPENDIX  171 

members  to  this  essential  and  benefi- 
cent work.  They  should  constitute 
themselves  a  royal  guard,  ever  sup- 
porting their  pastor  and  leader,  and 
encouraging  him  to  go  forward  in  the 
fight. 

b.  The  ofl&cial  board  should  author- 
ize a  Committee  on  Evangelism.  Let 
it  consist  of  the  pastor  as  chairman, 
the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  the 
Brotherhood  president,  the  Epworth 
League  president,  the  Junior  Epworth 
League  superintendent,  the  Ladies'  Aid 
Society  president,  the  presidents  re- 
spectively of  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  and  of  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  the  pres- 
idents of  any  other  vital  organizations 
which  may  be  peculiar  to  the  local 
church,  together  with  such  other  out- 
standing persons  in  the  church  whose 
talents  and  character  commend  them 
as  efficient  advisers  and  helpers. 

These  officers  of  organizations  are 
the  pastor's  lieutenants  throughout  the 


172     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

year.  They  have  charge  and  leader- 
ship of  detachments  of  Christian  work- 
ers, and  through  them  each  group 
is  to  be  pledged  to  earnest,  practical 
evangelism  in  the  revival  campaign. 
Some  of  the  leaders  of  detachments 
are  in  a  position  to  help  greatly.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  opportunity  of  the 
Sunday  school  superintendent. 

The  Sunday  school  gives  the  church 
its  most  accessible  evangelistic  oppor- 
tunity. The  superintendent,  his  officers 
and  teachers,  led  by  the  pastor,  will 
plan  definitely  and  prayerfully  for  a 
clear,  straightforward  appeal,  or  series 
of  appeals,  to  the  members  of  the 
school,  especially  those  who  have 
passed  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  to 
be  made  during  the  campaign.  It 
may  be  wise,  if  departments  meet 
separately,  to  make  a  special  appeal 
to  each  department,  as  the  Junior, 
Intermediate,  and  Senior.  Of  course 
it  will  be  recognized  that  always  in 
this  most  serious  and  important  bus- 


APPENDIX  ITS 

iness  in  which  Christians  may  engage, 
methods  must  be  adjusted  to  fit  local 
conditions,  whether  in  the  Sunday 
school  or  any  other  department.  There 
are  various  plans,  known  by  different 
names,  which  have  been  used  in  Sun- 
day school  evangelism.  We  commend 
as  a  thoroughgoing  and  very  practical 
method  that  which  was  developed  by 
Bishop  Henderson  in  his  work,  a  de- 
scription of  which  is  given  in  an 
attractive  booklet  entitled  Decision 
Day,  which  can  be  procured  from  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern,  at  small  cost. 
In  the  Junior  Epworth  League,  the 
Boys^  Brigade,  the  Boy  Scouts,  the 
Brotherhood  it  may  be  possible  to 
reach  some  by  a  special  appeal  who 
otherwise  would  be  missed.  One  who 
is  familiar  with  any  workable  De- 
cision Day  plan  for  the  Sunday  school 
will  be  able  to  devise  a  program  which 
will  be  effective  in  a  Junior  Epworth 
League,  or  like  service. 


174     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

3.  Policy 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Sunday  school, 
it  will  be  the  aim  to  enlist  all  the  help- 
ers possible — officers,  teachers,  class 
leaders,  and  all  Christians  connected 
with  the  various  organizations  and  the 
church  itself. 

When  the  time  for  the  revival  cam- 
paign has  been  fixed  care  will  be 
taken  to  insure  a  clear  field  for  the 
work,  be  the  period  for  a  week,  a 
month,  or  longer.  The  members  of 
the  committee  will,  of  course,  advise 
their  respective  organizations  of  the 
time  selected,  that  they  may  plan 
their  meetings  and  their  work  accord- 
ingly. Even  regular  meetings  of  such 
societies  should  not  be  held  if  the 
hour  of  meeting  conflicts  with  any 
service  of  the  campaign.  The  members 
of  the  society  should  make  a  special 
effort  to  be  present  at  the  revival 
service  at  such  a  time,  thus  testifying 
to  their  interest  and  lending  their 
practical  support.     It  should  be  possi- 


APPENDIX  175 

ble  to  run  the  campaign  without  em- 
barrassment ^^full  speed  ahead /^ 

Those  having  the  matter  in  charge 
will  see  to  it  that  announcement  of 
the  proposed  services  is  made,  using 
every  available  agency  including  public 
and  private  invitation,  pastoral  letters, 
church  calendar,  local  newspapers,  at- 
tractive invitation  cards,  etc.  This  is 
highly  important.  It  must  needs  be 
thoroughly  done  or  the  people  who 
should  be  reached  may  not  even  know 
what  is  planned.  It  were  well  to 
accentuate  the  announcements  further 
by  a  series  of  cottage  or  neighborhood 
prayer  meetings  wherever  practical. 
These  meetings  may  be  held  during 
one  or  two  weeks  preceding  the  regular 
campaign,  on  evenings  when  no  service 
is  held  at  the  church.  Several  meet- 
ings may  be  held  simultaneously  on 
one  night  in  different  parts  of  the 
parish.  Thus  two  or  three  nights  a 
week  may  be  used  profitably.  The 
number  of  meetings  held  will  be  de- 


176     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

termined  by  the  size  of  the  parish 
and  the  number  of  available,  com- 
petent leaders.  The  meetings  should 
not  exceed  an  hour  and  a  half  in 
length.  They  should  begin  on  time 
and  end  promptly.  All  the  neighbors 
should  be  invited  personally  to  be 
present,  and  at  the  meetings  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  plans  for 
the  future  and  the  interest  and  per- 
sonal help  of  all  Christians  solicited 
for  the  whole  campaign.  Yet  the 
spirit  of  devotion  and  of  prayer  should 
be  dominant.  Conversions  may  take 
place.  Sometimes  the  most  effective 
results  will  be  realized  in  these  small 
group  meetings.  Each  meeting  will 
have  a  leader — the  best  leader  avail- 
able. The  leaders  may  be  members 
of  the  committee  on  evangelism,  or 
others  more  competent  may  be  ap- 
pointed, if  accessible. 

If  the  pastor  is  to  be  his  own  evan- 
gelist, unless  he  be  a  veritable  genius, 
he  may  at  once  deepen  the  interest 


APPENDIX  177 

by  requesting  individual  members  of 
his  committee,  each  representing  his 
own  organization,  to  give  the  revival 
addresses  at  meetings  during  a  full 
week  or  more.  This  will  tend  to  tie 
both  leaders  and  their  organizations  to 
the  work. 

The  writer  is  convinced  that  when 
the  revival  meeting  is  under  way  there 
is  no  more  important  factor  in  pro- 
moting success  or  insuring  failure  than 
the  manner  in  which  the  invitation  is 
presented.  Careful  preparation  for 
^ ^casting  the  net''  should  be  made. 
Whether  seekers  are  urged  to  show 
their  desire  by  lifting  their  hands, 
standing,  coming  forward  to  the  altar, 
going  to  an  inquiry  room,  or  signing 
a  card — one  or  more — the  evangelist 
needs  the  most  complete  mastery  of 
himself  and  the  situation  and  the  cer- 
tain and  conscious  presence  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit.  We  would  urge  pastors 
to  study  to  master  this  part  of  the 
service  where  so  many  fail.    The  invi- 


178     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

tation  service  must  not  be  unduly 
lengthened,  yet  many  a  campaign  has 
been  saved  by  tenacity  in  some  one 
or  more  after  meetings. 

Friday  night  may  be  set  aside  as 
young  people^s  night,  with  a  special 
program  and  appeal. 

Of  course  pains  will  be  taken  to 
provide  attractive  music  and  magnetic 
musical  leadership  for  all  the  services. 
Not  highly  artistic  solos  lacking  in 
personal  interest,  but  sympathetic,  spir- 
itual hymns  intelligently  and  earnestly 
sung  are  desirable. 

The  pastor  should  be  the  busiest 
man  in  the  community.  His  morn- 
ings will  be  given  to  the  devotional 
and  intellectual  preparation  necessary 
for  the  evening  service.  Afternoons 
will  be  spent  largely  in  pastoral  visita- 
tion, following  up  inquirers  and  prom- 
ising cases,  however  little  or  great  their 
apparent  interest.  A  list  of  all  such 
persons  will  be  kept  carefully,  with 
the  names  of  all  who  make  decision 


APPENDIX  179 

for  Christ,  and  before  the  campaign  is 
over,  or  within  a  week  thereafter,  if 
possible,  the  pastor  should  call  per- 
sonally on  all  such  and  satisfy  him- 
self of  their  religious  status.  If  light 
has  not  come  he  may  be  able  to  lead 
them  out  of  the  shadows.  Most  of 
those  who  have  accepted  Christ,  he 
will  be  able  to  welcome  into  church 
fellowship.  They  may  be  received  a 
few  at  a  time  on  successive  Sundays 
during  the  campaign,  or  in  a  large 
company  on  the  last  Sunday  or  the 
Sunday  following.  This  pastoral  vis- 
itation is  especially  important,  as  it 
relates  to  the  children  and  the  young 
people.  It  is  usually  best  to  confer 
with  parents  concerning  their  children 
who  have  shown  religious  interest.  To 
enlist  the  sympathetic  assistance  of 
parents  often  means  a  rich  Christian 
life  for  the  children.  Frequently  irre- 
ligious parents  are  brought  to  Christ 
as  the  pastor  thus  confers  with  them 
concerning  their  children.     This  pas- 


180     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

toral  work,  requiring  it  may  be  more 
than  a  hundred  calls  in  a  week,  is 
hard,  hard  work.  It  would  be  drudgery 
were  it  not  so  blessed  and  vital.  If 
not  done,  a  large  part  of  the  really 
effective  work  of  the  meetings  may  be 
lost  to  the  church.  When  carefully 
and  prayerfully  pursued,  this  pastoral 
evangelism  will  often  produce  a  fruit- 
age otherwise  undreamed  of. 

Then,  if  results  are  to  be  conserved, 
following  the  revival  effort  there  will 
be  weeks  and  months  of  constructive 
work,  during  which  the  great  vitalities 
of  the  faith  will  be  made  the  familiar 
and  intimate  property,  in  so  far  as 
possible,  of  all  the  converts.  The 
medium  of  instruction  and  inspiration 
will  be  the  regular  church  services  and 
such  special  classes  as  the  number  and 
state  in  life  of  the  converts  may  re- 
quire. There  should  be  special  instruc- 
tion for  children,  for  young  people, 
and  also  for  adults. 

Such  a  method,   quickened  by  the 


APPENDIX  181 

principles  enunciated  in  the  foregoing 
chapters,  should  be  effective  in  pro- 
moting religious  interest  and  decision 
for  Christ  in  any  community. 

Having  the  willing  spirit,  two  things 
are  essential  that  successful  revival 
service  may  be  achieved  in  a  church 
and  its  community:  First,  plan  the 
work.     Second,  work  the  plan, 

II.  For  a  Community  Movement 

The  fundamental  principles  for  a 
community  revival  movement  are  to 
be  found  in  the  plans  detailed  above, 
be  there  two,  or  three,  or  more  churches 

involved. 

1.  Leadership 

As  the  leaders  of  their  respective 
churches,  the  pastors  must  agree  upon 
the  proposition  to  unite  their  forces 
for  an  aggressive  Christian  movement. 
They  may  decide  that  they  will  be 
their  own  evangelists,  arranging  a  plan 
of  rotation  in  preaching.  Then  it  is 
profitable  and  advisable  to  employ  a 


182      PRACTICAL    EVANGELISM 

Gospel  singer,  who  can  do  solo  work 
and  organize  and  lead  a  chorus  choir. 
Or  they  may  agree  upon  an  evan- 
gelist who  will  conduct  the  meetings 
under  their  direction,  freeing  them  for 
pastoral  work  and  personal  evangelism. 
Even  when  the  evangelist  is  secured, 
the  Gospel  singer  and  leader  is  an 
advantage. 

2.  Support 

a.  Additional  helpers  will  be  nec- 
essary. As  in  the  case  of  the  local 
church,  the  official  boards  of  all  the 
churches  should  dedicate  themselves  as 
organizations  and  as  individuals  to  the 
holy  enterprise. 

h.  From  each  board  a  select  num- 
ber of  competent  members  should  be 
appointed  to  organize  the  campaign 
and  execute  its  plans.  Such  appoint- 
ments should  be  made  as  to  include, 
in  so  far  as  possible,  the  key  men  of 
the  churches  and  the  community,  so 
that  every  virile  organization  in  every 


APPENDIX  183 

church  will  be  enlisted  and  every  press- 
ing need  of  the  neighborhood  con- 
sidered. Since  a  community  movement 
will  incur  expenses  in  excess  of  those 
of  a  single  church,  it  is  wise  to  make 
provision,  through  a  finance  commit- 
tee, for  such  expenses,  whether  for 
evangelists,  singers,  hymn  books,  print- 
ing, adjustment  of  church  property,  or 
what  not.  This  should  be  done  be- 
fore the  meetings  begin,  so  that  anxiety 
from  this  cause  will  not  deter  the 
work.  Of  course  other  essential  mat- 
ters, as  music,  ushering,  publicity  and 
printing,  personal  work,  young  people's 
work,  etc.,  will  be  carefully  planned 
for  and  performed  by  competent  sub- 
committees. 

3.  Policy 

Practically  all  the  matters  essen- 
tial for  a  local  campaign  are  present 
in  a  community  movement,  but  in 
an  enlarged  form.  Because  it  is  a 
community  activity  even  greater  care 
should  be  exercised,  lest  social  or  other 


184     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

enterprises  interfere.  A  more  general 
advertising  scheme,  which  will  reach 
to  every  home  and  individual  in  the 
community,  can  be  planned  and  real- 
ized. Following  is  the  copy  of  an 
actual   joint    pastoral   letter    used    to 

announce  what  was  called  ^The  H 

Christian  Movement  of  IQU.^'  This 
letter  was  mailed  to  every  member 
of  the  uniting  churches.  Several  times 
during  the  campaign  other  communica- 
tions were  mailed  or  distributed  to 
every  family  in  the  town.  These  letters 
were  printed  as  attractively  as  possible. 

H ,  N.  Y.,  January  10,  1911. 

Dear  Fellow  Christian: 

Greeting  !  We,  the  pastors  of  the  churches, 
salute  you!  May  yours  be  a  prosperous  New 
Year!  The  greeting,  though  tardy,  is  none  the 
less  sincere. 

And  there^s  a  reason.  It  is  a  matter  for 
congratulation  that  there  has  been  such  a  feel- 
ing of  hearty  good  will  between  the  churches 

of  H .     It  is  our  desire  to  encourage  and 

increase  all  kindly  feeling.  Surely,  all  will  be 
happy  to  aid  to  this  glorious  end. 


APPENDIX  185 

0  yes!  there's  a  way.  A  joint  committee 
from  our  churches  has  arranged  for  a  series 
of  evangehstic  services  to  begin  Sunday,  Jan- 
uary 29.  Your  pastors  are  to  be  the  preachers 
of  the  evangel.  We  are  to  be  assisted  by  a 
widely  known  and  very  successful  gospel 
singer,  Mr.  J.  J.  Lowe,  of  Philadelphia,  a  co- 
worker with  the  world-famed  Dr.  Chapman, 
of  the  Evangelistic  Committee  of  the  Presby- 
terian General  Assembly.  The  meetings  are 
to  continue  nightly  for  three  or  four  weeks. 
Other  meetings  will  be  announced.  We  be- 
speak for  you  a  hearty  interest  in  all  the  work 
planned.  Such  interest  means  SUCCESS.  We 
know  EVERYONE  Can  help  in  some  way.  Will 
YOU  not  cooperate  with  us  in  one  or  more  of 
the  following  plans? — 

1.  Arrange  business  and  social  matters  to 
avoid  any  conflict  with  the  meetings,  so  that 
you  can  be  present. 

2.  Attend  such  preliminary  Neighborhood 
Meetings,  soon  to  begin,  as  may  be  held  near 
your  home. 

3.  Make  available  your  talent  for  song,  or 
as  a  Christian  visitor,  or  usher,  or  adviser  in 
the  meetings,  by  joining  the  large  volunteer 
choir,  or  some  one  of  the  committees  on  work 
indicated. 

4.  If  you  are  a  "shut-in"  for  any  reason, 


186     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

still  you  can  help  by  pleading  conversation 
with  and  unceasing  prayer  for  the  unsaved 
friends  of  your  household  and  social  circle. 

Yes,  help  a  little;  and  let  that  little  be  as 
large  as  possible. 

The  time  for  preparation  is  short.  Please 
decide  at  once  to  be  an  aggressive  part  of  this 
community-wide  movement.  Then,  without 
delay,  indicate  your  decision  by  signing  and 
handing  to  your  pastor  the  card  inclosed, 
giving  you  a  particular  place  in  our  great 
campaign.     DO  IT  NOW! 

As  pastors  we  pledge  you  that  we  shall  put 
our  most  earnest  and  strenuous  effort  into 
this  work.  We  are  determined,  by  God's  help 
— and  yours — to  make  this  movement  a  suc- 
cess. We  refuse  to  be  responsible  for  failure. 
We  know  we  shall  succeed  if  our  people  but 
devote  themselves  to  the  Lord's  work.  We 
must  count  on  you.    Can  we? 

Hand  and  heart  go  with  this  New  Yearns 
Greeting  and  Appeal.  Taking  Philippians  3. 
13,  14  as  our  Year  Text,  let  us  march  forth, 
singing  in  our  hearts, 

''Onward,  Christian  soldiers! 

Marching  as  to  war. 
With  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Going  on  before." 


APPENDIX  187 

'This  one  thing  I  do!''    God  help  us  all! 
In  Christian  Love  and  Labor. 
Yours  faithfully, 

(Names  of  pastors.) 

For  a  community  movement  a  larger 
number  of  neighborhood  prayer  meet- 
ings can  be  arranged  and  should  be. 
Friday  night  can  be  set  apart  for 
the  young  people,  and  the  Decision 
Day  services  can  be  planned  for  all 
the  Sunday  schools.  More  pretentious 
arrangements  can  be  made  for  attrac- 
tive music,  because  of  the  enlarged 
constituency  involved.  All  of  the  pas- 
tors, if  wise,  will  be  actively  employed 
in  all  the  services,  and  pastoral  work 
will  be  engaged  in  with  the  greatest 
energy  possible,  that  the  last  soul  may 
be  reached. 

In  addition,  such  a  movement  makes 
possible  the  promotion  of  a  successful 
men^s  meeting  to  be  held  on  Sunday 
afternoons.  It  may  be  advisable  to 
secure  special  speakers,  one  for  each 
men^s  meeting.     At  any  rate,   every 


188     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

plan  should  be  so  perfect  as  to  assure 
a  powerful  and  successful  service.  If 
there  be  factories  near,  it  may  be 
well  to  arrange  noonday  meetings. 
They  will  be  brief  necessarily,  but  if 
tactfully  conducted  they  will  advertise 
favorably,  and  consequently  increase 
the  attendance  at  the  evening  services. 
It  will  be  well  to  provide  some 
sort  of  device  so  that  the  church 
preferences  of  converts  may  be  de- 
clared at  the  time  of  commitment. 
This  may  save  embarrassment  and 
friction.  A  card  with  a  pledge  de- 
cision to  be  signed  with  name,  address, 
date,  and  church  preference  is  a  simple 
and  effective  provision.  A  signature 
should  be  significant.  It  is  so  con- 
sidered in  any  legal  document,  and 
elsewhere.  Why  not  in  a  matter  of 
religious  decision?  Only  be  sure  that 
the  signature  has  been  written  in  good 
faith,  after  serious  conviction  and  ear- 
nest consecration  to  Jesus  Christ  as 
Saviour  and  Lord. 


APPENDIX  189 

When  a  community  movement  is 
planned  it  is  a  matter  of  great  con- 
cern that  the  best  meeting  place  be 
selected.  One  of  the  church  buildings 
should  be  decided  upon.  Which  one, 
good  judgment  and  Christian  prudence 
will  determine.  Usually  the  evening 
services  of  the  campaign  should  be 
conducted  in  the  same  place  through- 
out.   To  change  is  confusing. 

Such  a  movement  as  this  in  an 
ordinary  community  partakes  of  a 
social  and  educational,  as  well  as  a 
rehgious  character,  harmonizing  and 
unifying  the  powers  of  righteousness. 
It  is  well  worth  while. 


The  aim  has  been  to  present  plans 
which  are  suggestive  rather  than  ex- 
haustive. Situations  differ.  Some 
means  which  may  be  used  with  em- 
inent success  in  one  place  may  fail 
utterly  in  another.  Principles  are 
essential.  Plans  and  methods  are  va- 
riable.   A  precise  knowledge  of  condi- 


190     PRACTICAL   EVANGELISM 

tions  will  enable  pastors  and  helpers 
to  plan  to  meet  their  own  situation 
specifically.  The  great  need  is  that 
aggressive  evangelism  become  the 
universal  practice  of  our  Christian 
churches — the  rule,  not  the  exception. 
Our  Father  is  more  willing  to  give 
than  his  children  are  to  receive.  Given 
the  burden  for  souls,  then  plans  will 
be  formed  and  work  wrought,  seed  sown 
and  harvest  reaped. 

There  are  extraordinary  religious 
movements  such  as  are  conducted  by 
Dr.  Chapman  and  Mr.  Alexander,  the 
Rev.  William  A.  Sunday  and  others. 
We  believe  that  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples upon  which  they  operate  are 
presented,  both  as  to  spirit  and  prac- 
tice, in  the  preceding  pages.  We  need 
not  present  their  very  elaborate  organ- 
ization plans,  for  when  a  general  move- 
ment in  a  population  center  is  con- 
templated, such  honored  and  highly 
favored  evangelists  are  invited,  and 
they  bring  their  own  plans  with  them. 


APPENDIX  191 

In  conclusion,  we  pray,  first,  that 
the  zeal  for  God's  house  may  so  con- 
sume pastors  and  people  that,  second, 
more  and  more  it  will  be  a  fact  that 
the  churches  will  give  themselves  to 
the  proclamation  of  the  evangel  in 
usual  and  in  special  services. 


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